Old Conflicts Renewed
by Dark Spiner
Summary: *Complete* Sequel to the Dark Spiner. What will happen when old fires between the Republic and Empire are rekindled? And what will happen to the Blitz team, who decides to get themselves caught in the middle? L/OC.
1. Another War

Disclaimer:don't you get sick of these things?  
  
  
Kevin had made a full recovery after his battle with Zephyr and repairs on the Spiner were coming along nicely. The Blitz Team had been completely dominating Class S. No team could compete with them. Thus, they kinda' started getting bored. Leon and Naomi had come over when everyone was considering disbanding the Blitz Team.  
"Your kidding right?" asked Leon.  
"Nope, we're considering going our separate ways. You know our current standing. We're in first place." answered Kevin.  
"Wow, I didn't think I'd see the day."  
"I'm the only one who really wants to keep battling." said Brad.  
"For the money right?" asked Leena.  
"So?"  
"So, if you guys do disband, what do you plan to do with your selves?"  
"Leena and I though we might settle down."  
"Oh REALLY?" Leon asked, his curiosity piqued.   
"Yes! Do you have a problem with that Leon?" said Leena, getting angry.  
"No, sorry!"  
"I though I'd open up a parts shop." said Bit.  
"Maybe Leon should join you Bit." said Naomi, finally speaking up.  
"Yeah, why not? How 'bout it Bit?"  
"Sure."  
"Besides, I have a deal to hold up with Brad."  
"Yeah, I remember."  
"Huh? So, Jamie. What do you plan on doing?"  
"Doc and I thought we'd open a training center for rookie Zoid warriors."  
"Good cause."  
  
A few months later, everyone had gone their separate ways. Kevin and Leena moved into Romeo city. Bit and Leon apparently did too, because the parts shop 'Toros and Cloud Parts and Repair' had sprung up, not to far from where Kevin and Leena where living. Doc and Jamie opened their training center, and Brad and Naomi teamed up. Things where going smoothly, and Kevin and Leena had announced that they had become engaged. Everyone was happy, except Harry, who was absolutely devastated. He had been calling every day to try and talk Leena out of the engagement. Kevin finally went to Harry's base and threatened him with the Spiner's charged particle gun to solve the problem.   
  
Then one day, the news told of a revolt in the Guylos empire. The emperor had been captured, and an imperial general had gone warlord and taken over the empire. War was then declared on the republic. Apparently, the Warlord was a descendent of Minister Prozen, the man who resurrected the Death Saurer so long ago. The Helic republic put out a bulletin asking all those with combat Zoids and who were willing to fight to join the side of the Republic. The former Blitz and Fluegal teams offered help immediately.   
"Looks like we're all back together again." said Bit.  
"Yeah, who'd think something like this would happen." said Jamie.  
"Dunno Jamie." said Kevin, dropping off the Blade Liger.  
"But I do think Zephyr was connected somehow."  
"Why do you say that?" said Brad, throwing Kevin a towel so he could wipe the grease off his hands.  
"Well...this has started not long after the battle right? So I think that Zephyr wasn't workin' for the Backdraft when he battled me. I'm one of the few people who have a Zoid with a charged particle gun, so I think this Warlord guy hired him to get rid of me."  
"Makes sense." said Doc.  
"Yeah, Zoids like the Dark Spiner can take out multiple Zoids in one shot so..." said Leon, trailing off.  
"Agreed."  
  
"Well Zephyr, since your Geno Saurer was totaled, we've found a few Zoids you can chose from."  
"Really Sir?" Zephyr and the Warlord walked into a hanger containing a Death Stinger, a Geno Breaker, and the Liger Zero X.  
"Unreal, how'd you come across these Zoids?"  
"Thank my great-great-grandfather. Well?"  
"I'll take the Geno Breaker Warlord Prozen." 


	2. So It Begins

Disclaimer:we've seen em' before  
  
  
The Blitz and Fluegal teams had become special units in the Republic army. The Fluegal team would be for quick hit and run attacks to disorient the enemy and the Blitz team would then move in and clean things up. The two groups would be operating from a modified Hover Cargo that could carry 10 Zoids. The shield had more then twice the power of the one on Doc's original Hover Cargo. Doc had no official rank, where as Kevin was at the rank of Captain, and everyone else was a Lieutenant. The two teams were joined into one team renamed "The Devastators". The team was getting ready to deploy and Kevin was running off the armaments and modifications of the Dark Spiner to some rookie warriors.   
"The Dark Spiner has a double pulse cannon on the chest, an AZ 144 mm cannon on each shoulder, and twin paired mini-defense cannons on the tail end of the sail."  
"Impressive, but isn't there another weapon on the Dark Spiner?" someone piped up.  
"Well actually, there is. When the sail is deployed, the mini-defense cannons become a charged particle gun. It's power is comparable to that of the Geno Breaker."  
"That's incredible!"  
"Whoa!" Multiple murmurs went through the small crowd. Kevin smiled.  
"You guys wanted to know about the modifications too, didn't you?" everyone voiced their agreement.  
"Well, I've had the leg servomotors upgraded so at the top running speed, the Spiner can easily keep pace with the Liger 0. I've also had repulsor units added to the legs, bringing it's top speed to 315 kilometers per hour."  
"So does that mean you could keep up with a Lightning Saix?"  
"No, the Saix still has 10 km/phr on me. But my Zoid is one of the few Zoids that actually can come close to the Saix speed. That's everything, no back to your posts."  
"Sir!" said the troops as they snapped him a salute.   
"At ease." Kevin watched the men walk away. Leena walked up, smiling at him.  
"Well CAPTAIN, enjoying yourself?" Leena said sarcastically.  
"Oh come on Leena, can I help it if I like to show off? And we skip the formality in our unit, okay?"  
"Deal." Leena said, giving Kevin a quick kiss and then going off to get the Gun Sniper ready. Someone walked up beside Kevin.  
"You here the news?"  
"Yeah, I did Jack. We move out tonight."  
"Good Luck to you Kevin."  
"You to Jack." A man in a mechanic's jumpsuit ran over to Kevin.  
"All other Zoids are loaded sir, we're just waiting for the Dark Spiner."  
"Understood." Kevin stared out into the setting sun and thought about what was about to happen.  
  
That night everyone was set to go.   
"All units, MOVE OUT!" came a voice over the com system.  
"Well you heard the man, lets get going." said Kevin. Hundreds of transports started to leave.   
  
The Devastators where heading towards the boarder, where the empire was starting to move into republic territory.   
"All right everyone, our first target is an outpost set up at a crucial staging area for the republic. We are to wipe it out. Plain and simple."  
"Sounds simple, but if it's such a critical point, then won't it be heavily guarded?" asked Naomi.  
"Yes, it will be. So what we are going to do is as follows. Naomi takes out some of the stronger Zoids they have set up on guard duty. Jamie will make a few quick passes to further disorient them. Then Brad will move in first to set up a smoke screen. Then the rest of us move in and take out the base."  
"Will we be taking prisoners?" asked Bit.  
"Yeah, we need them so we can see just what the empire is planning. A republic unit will be along after we contact them to set up base. So if possible, leave the buildings intact."  
"When does all this happen?"  
"Dawn. Now lets get some sleep." Kevin said, yawning. Everyone watched him as he walked out of the tactics room.  
"Hard to believe he's our superior officer. One minute he's serious, the next, he's the way he used to be." said Brad.  
"Who cares? I agree with Kevin, lets get some sleep." said Leon.  
  
The next morning, things were in place.  
"Fire." Shots rang out, disturbing the serenity of the morning. Things had gone as planned. But Kevin had thought things would be much harder, it was like the empire wanted them to take the base.  
"Something's not right. This was too easy." said Jamie.  
"I agree. You said this point was critical, right Kevin?" said Bit.  
"Yeah, it is. This was way too easy. Doc tell the unit coming here to find another staging area, something doesn't feel right."  
"Got it Kevin."  
"Kevin, I found the reason why this was so easy." said Naomi.  
"Why?"  
"Up, on the ridge. Two Great Saber units, one Iron Kong PK unit, and three Rev Raptor units."  
"Shit! Naomi, start hittin' em'!"  
"Right!"  
"Everyone, head for that ridge." everyone acknowledged.  
  
Zephyr watched as Kevin and the rest easily took out the imperial Zoids.  
"Well, he's improved quite a bit. But he's still no match for the Geno Breaker."  
  
"Okay, Doc tell the republic unit that things are secure." said Kevin, as everyone walked into the Hover Cargo.  
"Okay."  
"And tell them they better have munitions."  
"Gottca." said Doc, laughing.  
"Wait, I didn't run out of ammo!" said Leena.  
"No, but we all used a lot of ammo, we're gonna need more."  
"Oh, right."  
"Congratulations on a successful first mission team." 


	3. Zephyr Returns

Disclaimer:it's been said  
  
  
The republic unit had come and the base was overrun with technicians. The Devastators' Zoids were being restocked with ammo, and the team had just finished their debriefing.  
"Man, do they have to be so through?" complained Bit.  
"Ya got me. I doubt they need to know EVERYTHING that happened." replied Kevin.  
"Lets just forget about it and see how things are going with the Zoids." said Jamie.  
"Good idea."  
  
In the hanger...  
"Your kidding me right?"  
"No sir, there is a glitch in your Blade Liger's system."  
"How long till it's fixed?"  
"It'll be done by the end of the day sir."  
"Looks like we've got more time to rest than I expected." Kevin said, putting his hands behind his head and stretching out.   
"All Zoids have been restocked with ammo sir." said a man who had come up behind Kevin. Kevin turned around.  
"HARRY?!?! What are you doing here?"  
"I've been assigned to this base."  
"I figured that, but I mean here, in a war."  
"I wanted to help out."  
"You don't strike me as the kind of guy to do that."  
"Well you were wrong."  
"Okay..." said Kevin, looking at Harry's rank.  
"Ensign. You haven't been after Leena have you?"  
"No, I've decided to move on in life." Kevin's jaw would've fallen off had he not caught himself.  
"Your kidding right? I mean that's kinda hard to believe."  
"Believe what?" asked Leena, walking up.  
"Oh, hey Harry. How's it been?"  
"Okay."  
"Wait a minute, your not swooning over me. Are you feeling all right?"  
"Yeah, I've decided to give up on you. I can tell you love Kevin, not me." Leena's face now had the same shocked expression as Kevin's.  
"Wow, I never expected this of you Harry. It's a nice change." This caused Harry to smile.  
"Well," Harry started, snapping a salute.  
"Captain, Lieutenant, good luck on your next mission."  
"Good luck to you too Ensign." said Kevin, he and Leena returning the salute. They watched Harry walk off.  
"He's changed quite a bit, hasn't he?"  
"Yeah, he has." said Kevin, wrapping his arm around Leena's waist.  
  
The Devastators deployed the next morning. Their next target was a small base about 30 miles in from the imperial border. Little did they know, someone had plans to stop them.  
  
"Doc, how long till we reach the base?"  
"9 hours."  
"Great." Kevin sighed.  
"I've got something on radar."  
"What is it Jamie?"  
"Don't know yet Kevin, but it's about the same size as the Dark Spiner."  
"Geno Saurer?" asked Naomi.  
"No, it's a different signature." said Leon, brining up the radar display on a console near him.  
"Then what is it?" asked Leena. Kevin started checking the Zoid's signature.   
"It's a Geno Breaker..." suddenly, the com system alerted them to an incoming transmission. They brought it up.  
"Hey Kevin, how ya been?"  
"Zephyr?"  
"The one and only."  
"I'm never going to assume anything about you again."  
"Good idea." The com shut off.  
"Come on everyone, we're deploying."  
  
"Leena, Naomi, you two provide long range support. Just watch for the charged particle gun.  
"Roger."  
"Got it."  
"Jamie, whatever you do, don't slow down. If he gets in the air, it'll be up to you."  
"Copy."  
"Everyone else, your with me."  
"Roger." said the rest.  
  
The combatants stared each other down. The Dark Spiner, Zero Schneider, Blade Liger, Geno Breaker, and the rest.  
"LET'S GO!!!!!" yelled Kevin. Leena, Naomi, and Jamie started firing. Kevin, Bit, Brad, and Leon charged the Geno Breaker. The barrage stopped just before the four of them reached the Geno Breaker. The Zoids started a furious battle. The Fox and Spiner were running circles around Zephyr while Bit and Leon attacked in close range. Bit went to jump on the Geno Breaker but was caught in one of it's buster claws. Leon ended up being just as successful. Zephyr threw them aside causing their systems to freeze. Leena and Naomi took advantage of the opening and fired away.   
"You really think you can penetrate my armor?"   
Zephyr charged the two of them and knocked them out of the way as if they were just leaves. Their systems froze. Kevin had come up behind Zephyr but missed. Zephyr was heading for his next target.  
"Jamie, move it!"  
"I'm trying, but I can't go any faster!"  
Kevin watched in horror as the Raynos fell to the ground.  
"Brad, lets go!"  
"Right!"  
The three remaining Zoids went top speed at each other. Kevin tried to attack again, but Zephyr had dodged again and then moved for Brad. Brad dodged the first attack, but wasn't so lucky the second time around. He had been caught by the horn on the Geno Breaker's head.  
"Now it's just you and me, the way it should be."  
"You scum."  
The Zoids charged each other, hitting with a force that would shatter most Zoids. The two Zoids started tearing furiously at one another. The Geno Breaker fired a charged particle blast and Kevin ionized the air around him with the Spiner's sail, canceling out the blast.  
The Zoids hit each other again and again, inflicting heavy damage. Both warriors had gone way beyond their limits. Then Zephyr decided to end the fight.  
"Well Kevin, until we meet again." said Zephyr, flying away.  
"But, a..." Kevin started, not knowing how to react.  
  
That afternoon, all the Zoids had been gathered and everyone was in the Hover Cargo.  
"I radioed the base and let them know we'll be coming back for repairs."  
"Thanks Doc."  
"So it looks like Zephyr's alive." said Brad.  
"Yeah, that makes things that much harder. You saw how powerful he had become with that Geno Breaker."  
"Looks like we have our work cut out for us. So what do we do now Kevin?"  
"I don't know Bit. Lets just get the Zoids repaired and then worry about what we're going to do. But for right now, alls I want is to rest and have something to drink."  
"I agree, that was worse than fighting the Berserk Fury." said Leena.  
Kevin fell back on the couch. "Life just got a lot harder." 


	4. An Organoid and the Storm Sworders

Disclaimer:refer to every other fic you've read  
  
  
Two days later, Kevin was still up in arms over what to do about Zephyr. The only thing he had thought of was to equip his and Leon's Blade Ligers with the attack booster units. He knew that wasn't enough though. It was going to be very hard to fight Zephyr the way things stood. At this point in time though, Kevin was asleep. But, for once in his life, he was sleeping lightly and was lost in his thoughts and dreams. Because of this, he didn't hear the door to his room open.  
  
Leena walked into her and Kevin's room. She knew Kevin wanted to be left alone, but she wanted to be there to comfort him. She saw he was asleep on their bed, shirtless. Leena laughed, first considering "attacking" Kevin, but then decided against it. She walked to the bed and sat down. She looked Kevin over for the millionth time. He wasn't much different from Bit, when it came to build. He was a bit heavier though. She realized that he was not someone you'd want to pick a fight with. Not because he was extremely strong, but he was a very determined person. After sitting there for a few minutes, Leena heard the alarms blare.  
***  
In his sleep, Kevin kept trying to think of a way to beat Zephyr. But it was to no avail. He wished he had something, some kind of miracle. While he was trying to come up with some more to help them, he heard the alarms go off.  
  
Kevin didn't know Leena had sat down on the bed, so he nearly knocked her off when he flipped over to get off the bed. She would have fallen off, had she not jumped ON to Kevin. Kevin had a very startled look on his face.  
"Uhhh, Hi Kev."  
"Hey Leena." said Kevin, still a little startled. Leena got of Kevin so he could get his shirt.  
"Any idea what's going on?"  
"No, you heard it as soon as I did."  
"All personnel, report to Hanger 3 immediately."  
"You heard him, lets go." Kevin said to Leena, putting his shirt on. When the two of them got to the hanger, Kevin asked a mechanic what was going on.  
"Well sir, a Zoid-like machine appeared by your Dark Spiner and Blade Liger."  
"Where'd it come from?"  
"Some think it came from the Spiner, it started glowing and then the thing appeared."  
Kevin started to make his way through the crowd to get a better look. He was amazed at what he saw. He was staring straight at an Organoid. It was keeping people away from Blade and Spiner. It wasn't like any of the organoids he'd seen on file. It wasn't like the silver or black ones. Besides, he already had an idea of what machines those to were bonded to. He figured the silver one was bonded to the Liger 0, because the organoid's partner piloted a Blade Liger, and he figured the Liger 0 was the final stage in the evolutionary chain. As for the black one, he though it was bonded to the Berserk Fury. He figured it was the final stage in the evolutionary chain of the Geno Breaker, and here was only one Geno Breaker that ever had a pilot with an organoid. As for the other two on file, they were blue and red, and this one was the same color as the blue on the Spiner. Also, it' shoulders, hips, and elbows were swept back into points There were also three spikes along the back of it's head. Two on each side of the head and one on each side of the jaw. The top spike on each side were the longest spikes, getting shorter as the went down. 'The elbow spikes must be devastating in close combat', Kevin thought, frowning. He took a step forward and the organoid focused on him. All the anger seemed to drain from it, and it tackled Kevin, clearly quite pleased to see him. Everyone watched in amazement. Leena was he first to speak.  
"So, what is it?"  
"It's an organoid." Kevin said standing up. The entire room looked at him in disbelief.  
"You mean that's an organoid?!" said someone pointing at the human sized Zoid standing next to Kevin.  
"Wish I knew his name though." mused Kevin.  
"Siege." said the organoid, speaking to Kevin telepathically.  
"Siege, is it? Well then Siege, welcome to the republic army."  
"Wait, how did you find out his name?"  
"Oh, he told me it." said Kevin, matter of factly.  
"How?"  
"Oh, right. You guys can't hear him. Well, organoids share a telepathic link with their partners, so we can understand what they're saying. The same holds true for an Ultimate X. It's organoid system was originally an organoid."  
"But I thought your Zoid was an Ultimate X." said Bit  
"Well, it used to be."  
"So your saying that one day, the organoid that's bonded to the Liger will un-merge with it?"  
"Not likely, I think your Zoid evolved from a Blade Liger with the help of and organoid, and it permanently bonded to the Liger 0."  
"So, you need an organoid to evolve a Zoid. Then how'd your Blade Liger evolve?"  
"With Siege's help. Remember, it didn't evolve until we got back to base and got close to the Spiner."  
"Oh."  
"Alright, crisis averted, get back to work." said Kevin.   
"You know what guys, Siege here is gives us one option, and I've got another idea now."  
"What is it?" asked Brad.  
"You'll find out later." said Kevin, running off. Everyone just stared at one another.  
  
The next day, the renamed Marauders, found out Kevin's other idea. In the hanger where the Marauder's Zoids were kept, two Strom Sworders stood next to the Raynos.  
"This is my other idea." said Kevin.  
"Storm Sworders huh? Who's gonna pilot them?" asked Naomi.  
"Jamie and I."  
"But I've already got the Raynos! Your not planning to get rid of it are you?"  
"No, we're keeping the Raynos. Just try the Sworder out, trust me, you'll like it." Kevin said, with a very large smile on his face.  
"All right..."  
A little while later, Jamie was preparing to get the Sworder airborne.   
"All right Jamie, HIT IT!" said Kevin shouting the last part into his head set. The Sworder roared off the runway. Jamie went through a series of high speed maneuvers that impress even Kevin.  
"Yo, Jamie. How 'bout some Sim-Zoids to spice things up?"  
"Hell yes!" said Jamie, buzzing the control tower.  
"Did Jamie just swear?"  
"Yeah, he did." Jamie tore through the sim Zoids in two minutes even.  
"Damn...Jamie, you want some better competition?"   
"Sure, get your ass up here Kev." Kevin took off the head-set and handed it to Leena.  
"He's enjoying himself way to much." said Kevin. His Sworder was airborne minutes later. The two started a dog-fight immediately. Jamie came at Kevin with the wing blades, but Kevin gone into an inverted loop that brought him up behind Jamie. Kevin popped off a few shots at Jamie before he rolled out of the way. Kevin pulled a snap-roll to keep on Jamie's tail. Everyone at the base that wasn't busy had set up an air-show kinda' thing set up. People were amazed at the skill the two possessed.   
"Kevin, what's taking so long? I saw you take down a Geno Saurer in a minute!"  
"Air combat's nothing like ground combat Leena, give it time." Kevin said, going through a tight roll.  
"Whatever." said Leena. Kevin had finally scored a hit on Jamie, and he went into a dive. 'Things are about to get a hell of a lot harder.' thought Kevin.  
"The Wild Eagle is back in action!"  
"Not good! Not good!" said Kevin, hittin' the Sworder's top speed.  
"You think you can get away from me?"  
"Don't have to." said Kevin, an idea coming to him. Wild Eagle had extended the wing blades and was coming for Kevin. Kevin rolled his Zoid and lined him self up perfectly as Wild Eagle passed over. He folded his wings and extended his own blades, cutting into the other Sworder. Kevin fell away almost as soon as it happened.  
"That was good, but this is better." Kevin saw that Wild eagle had gotten behind him and gotten a TARGET LOCK. Wild Eagle scored some hits on Kevin, before he did a snap-roll. The two went on like this for another hour. Eventually, Oscar flew in on the dog fight. Buzzed by the two Sworders, He landed at the base to find out what's going on. On the ground, Doc told him about how Jamie and Kevin where battling and that they had been at for over an hour and a half.  
"Man, those two have some talent. I couldn't keep up with them even if I tried."  
"Well Oscar, that's what happens when you get older. You slow down."  
"If you say so Steve." said Oscar, looking out at the dog-fight. They had gone on for another thirty minutes when someone in the control tour sounded the alarm.  
"Marauders team Storm Sworders, we have picked up a large object on radar. Believed to be hostile. Intercept and destroy if hostile."  
"Time for a real dog-fight. Up to it Wild Eagle?"  
"You better believe it." The pair headed off in the object's direction.  
"Imperial Whale King! Repeat, it's an Imperial Whale King." The pair went off in opposite directions and charged the Whale King. It started releasing Zabats immediately. They engaged the Zabats with relative ease, but the Whale King was causing a little more trouble.   
"Wild Eagle, we need to cut off the guns!"  
"Roger that." They proceeded to cut off the Whale Kings armaments. The guns at the base tore the Whale King apart once it got into range.  
"Yo, Wild Eagle, lets buzz the control tower before we land."  
"Lets do it!" The two Storm Sworders went full throttle past the control tower, causing a lot of havoc inside. The two set down, got out, and Jamie and Kevin were praised beyond all belief.  
  
That evening, Kevin was taking a shower after doing some repairs to the Sworders. It hadn't help that The Zoids wanted to talk with one another. He had been nearly thrown off a few times. Kevin heard the bathroom door open.  
"Who is it?"  
"Just me."  
"Hey Leena, how's it gonin'?" said Kevin not giving Leena a second thought.  
"Pretty good." Over the shower, Kevin didn't hear Leena's clothes fall on the floor. She stepped in with him.   
"What's up, need a shower and couldn't wait?"  
"No." said Leena, with a seductive look on her face. She pushed her body right against his and wrapped her arms around him. Kevin looked at her with a raised eyebrow.  
"Is this what's up?"  
"Yup, it's been a while since we've done anything, with the war and all." she said, kissing him on the cheek.  
"Don't worry, the war'll be over soon."  
"I hope so." Kevin returned Leena's embrace and the kiss. 


	5. Now Isaac's Back

Disclaimer:we know  
  
  
The Marauders time of leisure was over, they were being deployed for a search-and-destroy mission.  
"Marauders Team, ready to deploy." said Kevin over the com system.  
"Roger that Marauders, you're good to go whenever you ready."  
"You heard her Doc, lets move out."  
"Aye, sir." said Doc, mockingly.  
"Ha ha, very funny Doc."  
"I thought so."  
"You're impossible."  
"I agree." said Jamie. Siege growled in agreement too.  
  
"Alright people, listen up. Jamie, Leon, and Naomi are going to stay behind and guard the Hover Cargo."  
"Understood."  
"Everyone else is with me."  
"Understood."  
"Stop being so formal guys. I know I'm the senior officer, but come on."  
"Alright, we'll chill." said Brad.  
"Anyways, we're going after an imperial unit that's been giving the republic scout troops trouble."  
"How much trouble?" asked Naomi.  
"Lets put it this way. There's no more scout unit."  
"Oh."  
"We'll be moving through dense woods at night so you'll need to pilot my Blade Liger Bit."  
"Why can't I pilot the Liger 0?"  
"Because it's white, you idiot!" yelled Leena.  
"Oh, right. But, I've never piloted a Blade Liger before."  
"Then head to the simulator to get used to the controls."  
"Okay."  
"Are we good?"  
"Yup."  
"Bit, hit the simulator, everyone else, make sure your Zoids are in good working order."  
  
"Well Bit, it looks like you've learned to pilot the Blade Liger pretty quickly." said Leena.  
"It's not that hard. It's a lot like Liger's controls."  
"Well, I wouldn't know."  
"Right."  
"Everyone, no more chatter. Speak up only if you see something that doesn't look friendly."  
"Roger."  
The four Zoids moved slowly and cautiously through the forest. Little did they know, they were being watched by a group of Zaber Fangs lead by a Gun Tiger. And they had an ace up their sleeve if things didn't go their way.  
  
Kevin broke com silence. "Anything yet?"  
"No. Wait, I just saw something."  
"Where?"  
"About 20 yards ahead. Something silver."  
"I've got a bad felling about this."  
Just then, they were hit from all sides.  
"Split into two groups!" shouted Kevin. He and Leena ran off in one direction, drawing 10 Zaber Fangs and the Gun Tiger to them. Bit and Brad ran off in the other direction, drawing the remaining Zabers after them.  
  
"What's that silver Zoid?"  
"It's a Gun Tiger, a newer saber tooth tiger Zoid. Got more firepower than a Zaber Fang."  
"Great."  
  
"How many Zabers are following us Bit?"  
"At least 15."  
"Perfect."  
  
The Zaber Fangs were taken out easily, but when the group finally rejoined, the Gun Tiger gave them some real problems. It had managed to take out Brad and was real close to taking out Leena.  
"Guys? A little help?" Leena asked, trying to get a fix on the Gun Tiger.  
"Just a minute," Kevin said, lining up for a shot.  
"Too late." said someone in a red Zoid. The Spiner was knocked over, not knowing what was happening.  
"What was that?" said Kevin, holding his head. Bit had managed to take out the Gun Tiger, but not before it took out Leena.  
"Look for yourself." said an amazed Bit. Kevin got the Spiner up and saw a Zoid that looked exactly like the Liger 0. Except the teeth and paws were gray, the armor was red, and the armor on the main body was gold.  
"What is that?"  
"Meet the Liger 0 X." said the man in the Zoid.  
"Wait, that voice sounds familiar." said Bit. The Liger 0 X's pilot showed up on the com.  
"Isaac!!!"  
"Yup! I'm back little bro."  
"But I thought you were still in prison?"  
"Nope, got out on good behavior."  
"Right, more like the empire broke you out right?"  
"Give the boy a prize."  
"Great, first the Geno Breaker, now the Liger 0 X. Life couldn't get any better." said Kevin, dismayed.  
"Yes it could." said Isaac.  
"Oh god, how?"  
"You've got to fight me to get out of this forest."  
"That's it? No problem!" said Bit.  
"Bit, remember, your not in the Liger 0."  
"Oh yeah,"  
"We're screwed."  
"Not yet, lets just fight him like we would fight anyone else."  
"All right."  
"Then let the battle begin." said Isaac. The three Zoids charged one another, the two Ligers hitting each other first. While Isaac was occupied with Bit, Kevin casually walked the Spiner behind the Liger 0 X and put his foot on it's back, pushing it down.  
"You think it's going to be that easy?" said Isaac, confidently. He engaged the 0 X's ion boosters and flipped over Bit and charged him. Bit wasn't expecting it and was hit hard, sending the Blade Liger to the ground.   
"See?"  
"Shut up." said Kevin, closing in on Isaac. Isaac jumped at Kevin to use his Strike Laser Claw, but Kevin used the Spiner size to bat him away.   
"Is that the best you've got Isaac? Cause if it is, you've already lost."   
Isaac looked very distraught, realizing that Kevin was a far superior pilot. That was his best move, and Kevin deflected it like it was nothing. He'd have to be better prepared next time.  
"Until we meet again." said Isaac angrily. He ran off into the darkness. The Blade Liger got up.   
"Guess Blade here doesn't respond to me like he does to you." said Bit.  
"Don't worry about it. Don't worry, you won't have to pilot him again. We're gonna' need the Liger 0 all the time now." said Kevin, something in the back of his mind telling him something wasn't right. Everyone was picked up by the Hover Cargo and Kevin told the Republic about the Liger 0 X. They were as worried as Kevin. First the Geno Breaker, now the Liger 0 X. What was going to pop up next?  
  
A man walked into the imperial throne room to inform the Warlord of the "progress" they've been making.  
"Warlord Prozen, the work on the Death Stinger is going according to schedule, and it should be ready within the next three weeks."  
"Excellent." 


	6. Kevin's Breakdown

Disclaimer:we know  
  
  
The Marauders were fighting Zephyr again, and they were doing much better than last time. Naomi was the only one out at the moment.  
"Bit! Leon! Spread out and attack from both sides!"  
"On it!"  
"Leena, weasel unit assault!"  
"All right!"  
"Jamie, dive bomb!"  
"Got it."  
"Brad, your with me!"  
"Let's do it!"   
The Zoids charged one another, everyone's attack hitting its' target. When the smoke cleared, they saw that Zephyr had deployed his shield.   
"Joy." mumbled Kevin. Zephyr came at Leena, grabbing the Gun Sniper in one of the Geno Breakers' buster claws. It tightened its' grip and caused the vulcan cannons the break in half.  
"Lemmie' go!"  
"Why?"  
"Because she said so!" said Kevin, ramming the Geno Breaker. It didn't let go of Leena though. Zephyr threw Leena aside, knocking her unconscious.  
"Leena! You'll pay for that."  
"Right." Zephyr distanced himself from Kevin and Leena. He got his charged particle gun ready. As he aimed at Kevin, the sail on the Spiner started glowing and waving back and forth in an almost hypnotic motion. Zephyr looked confused and then dismissed what the Spiner was doing. He fired at the Spiner, hitting it dead on. Then, his particle beam just fizzled out.  
"What?!?!?!"  
"HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!!"   
"What are you so happy about?" asked Zephyr, looking at Kevin over the com.  
"That won't work anymore Zephyr. I can use my sail to ionize the air around me to cancel out a charged particle blast. Two blasts can't cancel each other out, but this can cancel out a blast!" said Kevin, trying to suppress his laughter because of the look on Zephyrs' face.  
"WELL CANCEL THIS!!!!!" shouted Zephyr, aiming his particle gun at Leenas' Gun Sniper. Leena had woken up and looked around at what was going on.  
"No." said Leena as Zephyr fired and Kevin fly towards her.  
"Siege, drop the foot locks on my mark." said Kevin, starting to ionize the air around him. Kevin watched as the blast grew ever nearer to Leena.  
"Now Siege!!!" Siege dropped the foot locks, but Kevin had Siege drop them too early. He had up to the Gun Snipers' mid-section protected. Half the blast disappeared while the other half cut through the Gun Sniper, melting it.  
"AAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" screamed Leena as the blast ripped through her Zoid. Kevin watched in horror Leena was thrown around her cockpit. She went silent not long before the blast stopped.  
"Leena!?!"   
She didn't answer.  
"LEENA!?!?!" shouted Kevin, desperately. Still no answer. Kevin turned to Zephyr.  
"That was a very bad move..." said Kevin, his voice sounding darker than anyone had ever heard it.  
"Why?" asked Zephyr mockingly. Kevin hit the Geno Breaker, sending it flying. Zephyr looked up, seeing the Spiner running towards him. He engaged his engines, moving away as fast as he could.  
"That's right! Run you COWARD!!!" shouted Kevin.  
"Should I go after him?" asked Jamie.  
"We have more important business to attend to." said Kevin, looking at the battered and broken Gun Sniper.  
  
Back at the republic base, Leena was put into the hospital wing. The doctors had stabilized her, but she hadn't woken up yet. She wasn't in a coma, she just couldn't wake up yet. Kevin figured that pretty much counted as a coma, but it didn't matter. Leena wasn't waking up. That's all Kevin knew. And that fact alone had Kevin extremely worried.  
"Don't worry Kev, Leena's always been a fighter, this won't get her down for long." said Bit, trying to reassure Kevin.  
"I hope you're right..." murmured Kevin. He walked off to get Leena a new Gun Sniper, just like her old one. He had really hoped Bit was right.  
  
Over the next few days, Leena had yet to wake up. And Kevin had been reliving the moment this had happened over and over again in his sleep. Finally, when Kevin was seeing it again, he woke with a start. He looked at the engagement ring on his left hand for a moment, then clenched his hand into a fist. Zephyr was going to pay for what he had done, Kevin swore his life on it. He got up and got dressed. Siege had woken up with all the commotion.  
"Come on Siege, we're going." said Kevin, strapping his gun onto his belt.  
"No" growled Siege.  
"What do you mean no!?!?" said Kevin, rather agitated.  
"I'm not going." rumbled Siege.  
"Fine," Kevin sighed.  
"At least looked after Leena for me." said Kevin, softening for a moment.  
"Sure," growled Siege.   
"Thanks." Siege watched Kevin run out the door and towards the hanger.  
"Good luck." muttered Siege, knowing what Kevin had set out to do.  
  
Kevin left the base and went in the general direction that Zephyr had went in. There was an imperial base along the route he had taken, so Kevin figured that he had gone there. And that was where Kevin was heading.  
  
Well Zephyr, you barely managed to get away from that one." said Isaac, walking over to Zephyr, who was overseeing the last of the repairs to the Geno Breaker.  
"You didn't fair much better in your first encounter with them you know." Zephyr shot back. Isaac frowned.  
"Well, what's done is done."  
"Agreed." said Zephyr. As the repairs finished on the Geno Breaker, the base alarms went off. Isaac and Zephyr ran to the control room to see what was going on. When they got there, they learned that the Dark Spiner was approaching the base rapidly. They units the base had deployed were already gone, courtesy of Kevins' charged particle gun. Zephyr and Isaac both mobilized their Zoids, Isaac having the Imperial armor on his liger.   
"It looks like I'm going to get two birds with one stone." said Kevin, looking at his opponents. He had only been as angry as he was once before in his life. It was after his family was killed. His anger was quelled after the Backdraft group had challenged him to a battle and it had taken them 15 Zaber Fangs to take him and his Shield Liger down. That wasn't going to happen this time, nothing was going to stop him. Kevin prepped his charged particle gun.  
  
Zephyr and Isaac watched as Kevin got his charged particle gun ready.  
"Isaac, get behind me!" shouted Zephyr, engaging his shield. Kevins' blast went right by them, instead hitting the bases' ammo dump. A large portion of the base was engulfed in flames.  
"That was just to make sure you two don't go back to reload."  
"The Spiner may be powerful, but lets see if it can handle the power of an ultimate X and a Geno Breaker!" shouted Isaac. The three Zoids charged one another and started tearing furiously at one another. Kevin noticed that Isaac had a new armor for the Liger Zero X. He had installed the Imperium armor. Isaac had also gotten better, and Zephyr was no push over. 'This is going to be fun,' thought Kevin. The Zoids continued the smash one another.   
  
Kevin had taken Isaac out of the battle, but Zephyr was about at the same level as Kevin, and it had proven to be a problem. Zephyr was getting cocky though, and he was making mistakes. And Kevin was taking advantage of them. Kevin had gained the upper hand not long after. Zephyr could no longer use his charged particle gun. Kevin used the opportunity and hit Zephyr with his own. Zephyr still had his shield left, but it didn't last long and he was thrown back. Zephyr expected Kevin to come over and finish him off, but he didn't. Instead, Kevin aimed his gun at the base and fired. When the smoke cleared, there was nothing left of the base.  
"Your time has yet to come." said Kevin walking away. Zephyr looked on in amazement.  
  
A little of Kevins' anger went away when he arrived at the base. Leena had woken up, and was there to greet Kevin. Kevin had never been so happy in his life. Siege walked up and let out a happy roar, glad to see that Kevin had come back in one piece.  
"Yeah, I'm happy to see you too Siege."  
"We're all happy to see you Kev." said Naomi, walking up to Kevin.  
"Hey Naomi! Kev's mine, you can't have him!" Leena said, very annoyed.  
"Don't worry, I already have someone." said Naomi, motioning to Brad. Brad blushed, probably for the first time in his life. Everyone couldn't help but to laugh. Everyone went into the base, Kevin telling them what he had been up to, and asking Leena how long ago she woke up. The best thing was when Kevin walked into the hanger to see Leenas new Gun Sniper having her old one's combat data uploaded and outfitted for combat. Kevin could find a reason to still be angry, but he was too happy to care what the reason was. 


	7. Aquatic Assault

Disclaimer:I don't own Zoids, but I do own the characters Kevin, Zephyr, and Siege. (felt like written an actuall disclaimer this time)  
  
  
It had been almost three weeks since the incident with Zephyr. Kevins' anger was pretty much gone being that Leena had made a full recovery and the team was being assigned their next mission. They were currently in being briefed on the upcoming mission.  
"Listen up Marauders, this battle will be conducted in a terrain you are all unfamiliar with."  
"What kind of terrain sir?" asked Kevin.  
"You will be staging an amphibious assault."  
"Actually, some of my team have experience with underwater Zoids. I, myself, have piloted a Barigator before and Bit and Leena have both piloted War Sharks."  
"Good. This assault will require the use of three Barigators and three Hammer Heads. The Hammer Head pilots will be-"  
"Sir," Kevin interrupted.  
"Yes?"  
"Can I assign who pilots what? I do believe I know the capabilities of my team better than you sir."  
"All right then, you will be in charge of assignment."  
"Yes sir." said Kevin, snapping a salute from where he sat.  
"Bit, Brad, and I will pilot the Barigators. And Leena, Leon, and Naomi will pilot the Hammer Heads."  
"Understood. Prepare to deploy."  
"Sir" said everyone standing and snapping a salute. All except for Doc that is.  
"Dismissed."  
  
"Why'd you put me in a Hammer Head Kevin?" asked an aggravated Naomi.  
"Well, you've always liked to have a feeling of power..." Kevin said, trailing off.  
"Right." replied Naomi, still none to happy.  
"Leena's in one because of the fire power."  
"I thought that's why I got assigned to one."   
"And Leon, well Leon's piloting one just cause."  
"Nice logic Kev." said Leon.  
"Thanks." said Kevin, smiling lopsidedly. He thought he saw someone following them when he turned to look at Leon, but he figured it was just his imagination.  
"So why'd you put Bit and I in the Barigators Kev?"  
"Well, you two pilot Zoids that are all around good. Barigators are pretty well rounded Zoids, so you get the picture."  
"Right." said Brad chuckling.  
"And I'm in the Hover Cargo, right Kev?" asked Jamie  
"Yup. We'll need you to provide us with info as things progress. Amphibious Zoid battles are much different than aerial or ground Zoid battles. Info needs to be funneled to the pilot quite often."  
"What about me?" asked Doc.  
"You are going to provide battle advice and whatnot." 'And play with your Zoid models, that's a given.' thought Kevin. Siege started chuckling, well...sort of.  
"All right, what did Kevin think this time Siege?" asked Leena. Siege just shook his head, and Kevin breathed a small sigh of relief.  
"It wasn't anything bad about me was it?" said Leena, turning to Kevin.  
"No, no, not at all Leena. I couldn't find anything wrong with you if I tried." said Kevin, a little nervously.  
"He's good." Naomi whispered to Brad. Leena was one of the few people that could actually make Kevin nervous, and she was proud of it.  
"Uh huh. Lets just get going."  
"Kay Leena." Siege growled to Kevin as everyone started walking. Kevin turned around to see a plant sitting near a door they walked by. The thing was it hadn't been there when they walked by. Kevin and Siege started walking towards it.  
"Hey Kev, we gotta get going!" shouted Leena, from down the hall.  
"All right, comin'." Kevin turned back to Siege.  
"Come on, lets go."  
  
From inside his 'disguise' Harry breathed a sigh of relief as Kevin and his organoid walked away. He couldn't let him find out that he was still after Leena. What he didn't realize, is that Kevin suspected something was going on.  
  
The Marauders had deployed and were in position to launch their Zoids. The Hammer Heads launched first, to give the Barigators some support, if needed. Barigators were no were near as heavily armed as a Hammer Head, but they were faster and had a thick armor. Kevin had his Barigator modified. It no longer had the four shot missile launcher in between its' hips. It's two 20mm cannons were still there, but Kevin had four eight shot torpedo launchers installed one on each shoulder and hip. Bit and Brad had left their Barigators the way they were.   
"Bit, Brad, stay back and keep watch over the Hammer Heads. I'm gonna do some scouting."  
"Copy that."   
The Hover Cargo was staying far enough behind to avoid detection from the enemy, but close enough to observe what was going on. Everyone watched as Kevins' Barigator disappeared down into the murk. Kevin had gone down to the bottom, keeping just above it to avoid detection, and moving slow enough not to be registered as a Zoid by any motion detectors that might be around.   
"Siege, you sense anything yet?"  
"No." Suddenly, the Barigator sensed something coming. As it lifted its' head up to look, Kevin caught a glimpse of a very large group of War Sharks heading in the direction he had come. He radioed back to warn the rest of the team, but the War Sharks had already gotten there. Kevin turned the Barigator around, going top speed, but keeping low to the bottom to stage a surprise attack.  
  
"How many War Sharks are there Jamie?" shouted Bit.  
"At least 25."  
"Not good." Everyone had preped in the simulators for underwater combat, but it was still harder than everyone had expected. Brad had just tossed a War Shark out of the Barigators' mouth when three more came and started harassing him. Something shot up from the bottom, catching one of the War Sharks and carrying it along towards the surface.   
  
Kevin breached his Barigator, War Shark in its' mouth, and smashed the thing against the surface. The War Shark broke in half, and Kevin went back down for his next victim.   
  
The number of War Sharks was slowing falling, but there were still quite a few left. Naomi was being chased when a torpedo came from above and destroyed it. Kevins' Barigator swam up next to Naomi.   
"Miss me?"  
"Yes and no."  
"Thanks a lot."  
Kevin grabbed on to a near by War Shark and shook it like a rag doll. Parts of the Zoid started falling off, and Kevin let it go. It sank to the bottom and Kevin got an idea. He, Brad, and Bit went down so they could come up and surprise the War Sharks. Kevin let lose all of his remaining torpedoes and destroyed many of the remaining War Sharks. Leena, Naomi, and Leon had pretty much finished them off, leaving three for Bit, Brad, and Kevin. Bit and Brad tore the War Sharks they were fighting apart, while Kevin bit the one he was fighting in half. When they were done, they went back into the Hover Cargo to reload.  
  
"That was actually kind of fun!" said Leena, entering the tactics room of the Hover Cargo.  
"Speak for yourself." said Bit as he sat in a chair, exhausted.  
"It wasn't that bad, right Siege?"  
Siege roared in agreement with Kevin.  
"Alright guys, they know we're here, so we're gonna have to hit the base soon. The Barigators will take out any land based Zoids that pose a problem, and the Hammer Heads will deal with most of the underwater enemies."  
"Okay."  
"Doc, are you prepping my Gator?"  
"It'll be ready in a few minutes."  
"Good. Once it's ready, we attack."  
  
When they launched, they saw what was up with Kevins' Gator. Kevin had put on a double barreled beam cannon, like the one that Brad used on his Command Wolf, before it was destroyed. When they reached the base, Kevin unloaded all his torpedoes on the enemy Zoids that had been deployed and jettisoned the torp pods when they were empty. After that, Kevin, Bit, and Brad got their Barigators on land and started attacking the floating base. The three of them had to deal with mostly Heldigunners. They were doing pretty good, and Kevins beam cannon was coming in very handy. Under water, everyone was faring well too. Things went even better when Bit and Brad came back under. Kevin was still topside, taking out the last few problems. Leena had radioed him and told him that they were done there. Kevin told her he'd be there in a minute. When Kevin turned back to what he was doing, Zephyr landed in front of him.  
"Not so hot now huh?"  
"This isn't the time or the place Zephyr." said Kevin, looking around at the crumbling base.  
"Why do you say that?" responded Zephyr. As soon as he finished his sentence, a piece of the base next to Kevin broke away. Kevin took the opportunity to dive into the hole it formed, effectively escaping from Zephyr.  
"Guys, get outta here!" said Kevin while he was diving.  
"Why?" asked Bit.  
"Zephyr's topside, That's why!"  
"Okay, I think it's time to leave!"   
  
The Marauders managed to get away without having to deal with Zephyr. They were all thankful for that. They were back at the base for debriefing. When they were done, Kevin and Leena went to get something to eat. As they were walking down the hall, Siege stopped suddenly, turned around, and let out an angry roar.  
"What's up Siege?"  
"Someone's following us." Siege growled.  
"What'd he say?"  
"He said someone's followin' us Leena." said Kevin, drawing his gun.  
"I understood the some part, but not the rest."  
"You're developing a telepathic link with Siege? Well, we must be really close for Siege to do something like that."  
"I think it's involuntary Kev."  
"Whatever, we'll talk about it later." Siege walked down the hallway, found someone hiding around a corner, grabbed him in his teeth, and threw him against the opposite wall.  
"Harry?"  
"Yeah, that'd be me."  
"Why are you following us?"  
"So I could keep an eye on Leena?" Harry said nervously.  
"God, don't tell me your ass is still obsessing over Leena."  
"That kinda what it is." said Harry quietly. Leenas' headdress went up in a V shape.  
"You still LIKE ME???" she said, anger creeping into her voice.  
"Well, see, the thing is, I'm happy that your happy Leena, but-"  
"But WHAT?"  
"But I'm not happy seeing you with anyone but me." Leenas' anger started to build.  
"I think we should leave, NOW." Kevin whispered to Siege. He quietly growled his agreement. As they ran from Leena and Harry, multiple crashes, smashes, and other loud noises started following them.  
"Not good..." Kevin muttered to himself. Suddenly, a lead pipe flew by Kevin and Siege. They stopped so suddenly, that Harry ran into them.  
"I've got you now!" shouted Leena coming up the hall. Harry had gotten up in time to see a computer keyboard flying at him. He ducked out of the way, but being that Kevin and Siege were still standing there in amazement, Kevin got nailed in the back of the head. Kevin was okay, but he was having a hard time getting back up. When he finally did, he turned and looked at Leena and Harry.  
"Sorry honey, I didn't mean to hit you." said Leena, nervously.   
"It's not your fault that you hit me, or this whole thing got started. It's Harrys' fault." said Kevin, looking at Harry. And if looks could kill, Harry would have died 10 times over. Kevin charged Harry as he started running down the hall. Leena and Siege watched Kevin chase Harry down the hall.  
"Harry's hopeless." grumbled Siege.  
"I agree." said Leena, understanding what he said. 


	8. Things are Normal

Disclaimer:look at the one on every other zoids fic  
  
  
It was the day after Kevin had chased Harry around the base. Kevin didn't know how, but Harry had managed to lose Kevin. Kevin was currently working on the Zoids, and had pretty much forgotten about Harry. He figured he'd never change. Harry then ran trough the hanger screaming in terror.  
  
***  
  
Before hand...  
  
Leena, Naomi, and the Tasker sisters were in a lounge talking. Siege was curled up in the rooms largest couch. Naomi, Chris, and Kelly were teasing Leena about Harry and Kevin. Plus about how Siege had developed quite a liking to her, being that when Kevin didn't need his help, he hung around Leena. During the middle of their conversation Harry walked in. Siege took notice and stuck his tail out to trip Harry. He fell right over it. Harry had reached up to grab on to something to help him up, and he grabbed onto Leenas' thigh, not realizing it. She immediately flipped out and began chasing Harry. The remaining three looked over at Siege, knowing full well it was his fault. He had a liking to getting Harry into a hell of a lot of trouble.  
  
***  
  
Kevin watched in amusement as Leena chased Harry around the hanger. Kevin heard a roar from below, and looked down from the Shadow Fox. Siege was below. Kevin dropped off the Fox and walked up to Siege.  
"Don't you ever give Harry a break Siege?"  
"Nope." he responded happily.   
"What'd you do this time?"  
"I tripped him, and he grabbed onto Leenas' thigh while trying to get up, not realizing it was her thigh." Kevin shook his head in disbelief and jogged over to where Leena had cornered Harry.  
"Okay Leena, I think that's enough." he said grabbing onto her raised fist.  
"But-he-"  
"I know, Siege told me. It's his fault Harry tripped you know."  
"What?!?" shouted Leena turning towards Siege.   
"WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU!!!!!" she said, charging Siege.  
"Ahh!!! Wait-no, Kevin-HELP!!!" Siege said, running away from Leena.  
"You're on your own." called Kevin after him. Kevin extended his hand to Harry.  
"Here, lemmie help you up."  
"Uh, thanks. I thought you were still angry at me."  
"Nah, I figured that you'll never change. So as long as you don't hit on Leena, I spare your life. And keep an eye on Siege, he'll probably try to pull something on you again."  
"Right, Thanks."  
They were both about to head to a lounge when they heard a large crash. Leena had managed to tackle Siege and pin him. Kevin decided it was time to end this little fiasco. He walked over to the pair and plucked Leena off Siege.  
"Alright Leena, we have more important things to do other than fight amongst ourselves."  
"Fine." said Leena, walking off.  
"Siege, I'd suggest keeping your distance from Leena for a while okay?"  
"Good idea."  
  
About three weeks later, Kevin, Leena, and Siege were driving back to the base from a near by town. Kevin had needed to some new parts ordered for the Gun Snipers and the Spiner and Leena wanted to do a little shopping while in town. Siege had fallen asleep in the back of Kevins' Hummer and Leena was sitting next to him, watching the scenery. Not that there was much to watch. Kevins' Hummer was customized, in a sense. He had worked it so you could drive with or without the ceiling of the passenger compartment. The ceiling was off, so they could enjoy the nice weather. Kevin had one of his favorite songs on, Lawyers, Guns, and Money by Warren Zevon. It hit a specific part in the song, and Kevin realized they were in the same boat. The Marauders were caught between a rock and a hard place. They hadn't been able to complete their last few missions because Zephyr and Isaac had shown up just as they were finishing up and running low on ammo, so they'd need to abort. Kevins' superiors were not enjoying this at all. Kevin had an idea though, and it didn't have anything to do with the parts Kevin had ordered. When they got back to the base, Jamie was there waiting for them. Apparently, they had been assigned a new mission. Kevin decided it was time to try his idea.  
  
As they were heading to their destination, Kevin spelled out his idea for everyone. Leena and Naomi were going to wait till Zephyr and Isaac showed up to deploy. Jamie would fly the Raynos, being that it used energy weapons. Leon and Kevin would be using their Blade Ligers, minus the attack booster units. They were putting to much strain on the Zoids. Bit would deploy in the Zero Panzer. And Brad didn't have to change anything.   
  
Things were going as planned. Zephyr and Isaac showed up as expected, Leena and Naomi deployed, and Kevin called for Siege to merge with his Liger. Zephyr and Isaac were having a very hard time doing anything being that they were pinned by constant fire from Leena and Bit. Isaac and Zephyr ended up running, being that opponents were so well prepared.   
  
When they got back to base, Kevins' superiors were very pleased with how he handled the Marauders situation. The parts Kevin ordered had come too. So, after he rested for a while, he and Leena set to work. Kevin had ordered a shield for the Spiner, and new leg servos for the Gun Snipers. It only took Kevin and Leena a few minutes to install the shield, and they moved on the servo units. Kevin attached some cables to Naomis' Gun Sniper, and Leena used a crane to move the legs away from the body. There was a group of mechanics there too, so the work wasn't that hard. Kevin helped remove the old hip and knee servos from each leg and install the new ones. They did the same for Leenas' Gun Sniper. Kevin also had the gun barrels on all the Zoids checked to make sure nothing was wrong with them. After Kevin thought about it, he realized that things had gone pretty smoothly this month. He didn't like the feeling at all. 


	9. Imperial Assault

Disclaimer:still the same, at least last time I checked  
  
  
Bit and Kevin were walking through the corridors of the base, heading to the hanger. Bit had decided to ask Kevin about his theories about the Liger's and the Fury's organoid system.  
"So you think that the organoids bonded with the Zoids permanently during the Zoids evolution?"  
"Well either that, or the new theory I came up with."  
"What's your new theory?"  
"The Liger and Fury were built with integrated organoids."  
"Go on."  
"Well, I watched the footage taken of your fights with the Berserk Fuhrer and it seemed that the Liger and Fuhrer seemed to remember each others moves from somewhere, even though it didn't seemed like they'd ever fought before."  
"Fuhrer? Don't you mean Fury?"  
"Berserk Fuhrer is it's real name, Berserk Fury is what it's normally called because it rolls off the tongue easier."  
"Oh, right. So you're saying that the Fury and Liger have fought before in the past?"  
"It's possible, and I wouldn't doubt it. Siege said he talked to the organoid system on the Liger and it told him that it never evolved from anything, at least that it can remember. Apparently, the Liger Zero is an extremely old Zoid."  
"How old?"  
"That, I don't know. And I wish I did. My guess is it was it came out around the end of the last republic-imperial war." Bit whistled in amazement.  
"That's a long time ago. That means Liger is at least a hundred years old."  
"I know."  
"Oh Kevin, one more thing."  
"Yeah, what's up?"  
"Why'd you dump the Storm Sworders?"  
"They weren't as helpful as Jamie and I expected. Unless you haven't noticed, Jamie does a lot better in the Raynos."  
"Good point."  
  
The two men entered the hanger and found pilots jumping into their Zoids and technicians and mechanics making the final preparations to launch the Zoids. Kevin found the rest of the team and found out what was going on. Apparently, a large imperial force was advancing on the base. The Marauders were just waiting for Kevin and Bit so they could mobilize.  
"So, the empire has made their move."  
"Looks that way." said Leon. Kevin pulled the small communicator he carried off his belt.  
"Doc, get the Hover Cargo ready to deploy."  
"Already on it Kevin."  
"Why weren't the alarms sounded? I would have been here a lot faster." fumed Kevin, as he turned off the communicator.  
"They didn't want to let them know we know they're there." said Naomi.  
"Whatever. Marauders, Move Out!"  
  
The Marauders joined the front lines off the Zoids defense force that had been set up. Two Leomaster class Shield Ligers, Godos, Dibison, Guysack, and so on. A few imperial type Zoids here and there, but not many. Kevin open a channel to the base.  
"Are the Snipe Masters and Gun Snipers in position?"  
"Yes sir, they're just waiting for the enemy to come into range."  
"Good. Inform me when they spot the enemy and tell them to fire on my command."  
"Yes Sir!" The comm operator broke the channel. Kevin only had to wait a few minutes before he was notified. The images were brought up on his displays.  
"That's a lot of Zoids. They're aren't messing around." Kevin said to himself, impressed with the imperial strike force. There was every kind of imperial Zoid imaginable. As he was looking over the Zoids, he found to familiar unfriendly faces. He opened a comm channel to everyone present.  
"Look alive everyone, the Geno Breaker and Liger Zero X are here." He waited just another few minutes before giving the order to fire. He watched Zoids fall, but there seemed to be no end to the imperial Zoids.  
"Snipers, cease fire. All units, advance." Kevin didn't hold the highest rank at the base, but he had been given informal command of the Zoids deployed. The republic defense force started moving towards the imperial strike force. It wasn't long before the two sides met each other in combat. The Marauders were tearing through the enemy Zoids when Bit and Kevin faced Isaac and Zephyr. When the four started each other down, it seemed like everyone stopped to watch the monumental battle that was about to start. Kevin and Bit moved first. They both charged their rivals and a furious battle began. While Kevin engaged Zephyr, Bit battled Isaac. Bit was using the Schneider armor and Isaac was using the Imperial armor. They ended up almost evenly matched. Isaac had managed to get the upper hand after a few minutes. Leena had come over too help when Isaac turned towards her and a small shockwave emitted from the Liger Zero X. When it hit the Gun Sniper, the Gun Sniper shut down.   
"What happened?" asked Bit.  
"It's an EMP!" said Doc.  
"In English please?" replied Bit.  
"An Electromagnetic Pulse. It'll shut down anything it touches."  
"That's lovely."  
"Isn't it?" said Isaac. He deployed his Liger's blades and charged the disabled Gun Sniper. The Zoid was cut in half at the chest. Everyone watched the top of the Gun Sniper fall to the ground. 'I hope to god she's okay.' thought Kevin.  
"Siege, get her out of there and get her back to the Hover Cargo." Siege's face appeared on one of the displays and he gave a growl of acknowledgement. Siege ejected from the Spiner and went over to the Gun Sniper. Kevin watched as Siege took Leena back to the Hover cargo.  
"Going to fight me without your organoid Kevin?"  
"I kicked your ass before without my organoid Zephyr, so don't get your hopes up."  
"We'll see who comes out on top this time."  
  
It had been about a half an hour and numbers on each side were starting to thin, but the republic forces had the upper hand. Something showed up on Kevin's radar, and when he looked in the direction of the blip, a huge energy beam went over the group of Zoids. The republic forces watched as it hit the base and vaporized it. Kevin looked in the direction the beam came from and zoomed in on the area. He was shocked at what he saw.  
"What could have that kind of power?" said Jamie, in a shaky voice.  
"I know what." said Kevin, in an equally shaky voice. Now everyone was getting nervous. It wasn't easy to rattle Kevin, and being that he was rattled, whatever it was couldn't be good.  
"What?" asked a soldier from somewhere in the mass of Zoids.   
"Look." Kevin sent the image to every republic Zoid in the area. The screen showed a blue, black, and red scorpion type Zoid.  
"Now who shouldn't be getting their hopes up?" asked Zephyr, mockingly.  
"What is it?" asked Leon.  
"It's a Death Stinger." replied Kevin.  
"I can't be..." said Brad.  
"But it is!" said Zephyr, a large smile plastered on his face.  
"All units, full retreat! I'll distract the Death Stinger long enough for everyone to escape."  
"But how?" asked Bit.  
"I'll manage. Now get outta here!"  
"Roger that."   
  
The republic Zoids started their retreat. Kevin turned the Spiner to face the approaching Death Stinger. He leaned the Spiner forward and got ready to fire his charged particle gun. When he fired, multiple imperial Zoids were vaporized. When the beam hit the Death Stinger, it caused a huge explosion.  
"Guess the Death Stinger isn't all it's cracked up to be." muttered Kevin under his breath.  
As the smoke cleared, Kevin saw something that didn't surprise him. The Death Stinger walked out, with no damage whatsoever. 'Must be the shield it's supposed to have.'  
"Enjoy this victory while you can Zephyr, the next battle will be the republic's."  
"Whatever you say Kevin." Kevin engaged the Spiner's engines and jetted off.  
"Should we go after him sir?"  
"No, leave him alone. Things would be to easy without him around." 


	10. Nightmare's Arrival

Disclaimer:If you've every read a fan fic before, you know what this is for  
  
  
A lone Zoid was moving swiftly across the desert. At a distance, most people would've thought it was a Lightning Saix. In reality, it was the now infamous Dark Spiner. A large dust cloud hung behind the Spiner for at least a mile. The Zoid was moving along on it's repulsor engines, being that it's pilot had somewhere he wanted to get to in a hurry.  
  
In the cockpit...  
Kevin was thinking about his destination and what he was going to do once he got there. He was heading for a dealer of rare parts and rare Zoids. This man was a godsend when it came to keeping the Zoids on the Blitz team in working order. All but one Zoid on the team had been extremely rare, so it was a good thing that this man was in this business. The reason he was going was because Leena wanted a new Zoid, preferably a Gun Sniper. Kevin remembered seeing an odd looking Gun Sniper at the shop last time he was there. He remembered the owner telling him a little about it. He had said that this Zoid and been juggled around from pilot to pilot for a long time before he came into possession of it. The reason that no one kept it for a long time was because it never liked anyone who stepped into the cockpit. "Was a lot like the Liger Zero in that sense." he had said to Kevin. This particular fact had piqued his interest. He was heading there to look at this very Gun Sniper.   
  
Kevin lost his train of thought when Siege roared to him from on top of the Spiner.  
"We'll be there soon, don't worry." Kevin replied. Siege grumbled. They had already been out for over an hour and Siege had gotten extremely bored. If Kevin was right about the Zoid he was going to see, Siege wouldn't be bored on the return trip.   
  
Kevin and Siege walked into the shop and saw the owner at the desk.  
"Hey Gramps, how's it been?" Kevin said, greeting him warmly. The man had become like family to Kevin.  
"Kevin? It's been almost a month, where've you been?" he said, walking over to Kevin and clapping him on the shoulder.  
"Fighting this god damned war, that's where I've been."  
"Just like you, one to always do the right thing."  
"Almost always Gramps."  
"Right. So Siege, how've you been? Kevin still treating you well?" Siege let out a series of grunts and growls that Kevin translated.  
"Good to here Siege. So what can I do for you Kev?"  
"I want to take a look at that Gun Sniper you've got in back."  
"Sure thing. Planning on buying it this time?"  
"There's a good chance I will be. And I'll pay you extra just for having it here when I needed it."  
"No need to be so modest. Come on you two, follow me."   
  
Kevin and Siege followed the old man to the back where the Gun Sniper was berthed. When the lights came on, Kevin laid his eyes on the dark blue and silver Gun Sniper.  
"So Gramps, what was this things name again?"  
"From what I remember, it's called the Gun Sniper Nightmare."  
"Gun Sniper Nightmare huh? Impressive machine." Kevin said, circling it. Siege walked up to it, and the Nightmare activated. It caused Kevin and Gramps to jump back in surprise. Nightmare looked down at Siege and let out what seemed to be a joyous roar.  
"Siege?" Kevin asked questioningly. Instead of answering, Siege started talking to the Nightmare. As the two conversed, Kevin picked up a little of what the Nightmare was saying here and there.  
"Siege?" Kevin asked again. Siege turned to Kevin and let out an excited roar. Kevin looked up at Nightmare.  
"What? What is it?" asked Gramps.  
"Are you?" said Kevin to Nightmare. It shook it's head yes.  
"Is it what?"  
"Gramps, the Gun Sniper Nightmare is an Ultimate X."  
"WHAT!?!?"  
"It told Siege that it was and it just shook it's head yes when I asked it if it was."  
"This is gonna cost you then if you buy it."  
"Don't worry Gramps, I'll pay in full plus extra." Kevin had a really good feeling about this Zoid.  
  
As the group was heading back to the makeshift base that had been created after the Death Stinger's attack, Nightmare easily kept pace with the Spiner as it ran. Siege was busy talking to it while they ran. Kevin understood every word the Nightmare uttered, and he had a really good feeling about what would happen at the base when Kevin told Leena that her new Zoid was an ultimate X.  
  
When Kevin arrived at the base, Leena was waiting outside for him. She watched the Nightmare with wonder as it ran. She thought Siege was piloting it, but she noticed he was sitting on top of the Spiner. Leena walked over to the Spiner as Kevin dropped out. The Nightmare wouldn't stop looking at Leena.  
"Hey Kevin, what's with this Zoid?"  
"Oh, there's nothing up with it."  
Leena looked back at the Nightmare in wonder.  
"Leena, meet the Gun Sniper Nightmare, your new Zoid. And it just so happens it's an Ultimate X."  
"An Ultimate X?!?!" she said in amazement.  
"Yup."  
"But, if it's an ultimate X, then how do you know I'll be able to pilot it?"  
"Well, when she asked me to describe you, she seemed very excited to be able to finally meet someone like her."  
"Hi Leena!" came an excited voice. It resembled Siege's voice, but it was feminine.  
"Was that you Nightmare?" asked Leena hopefully.  
"Yup, that was me!" it replied. The Marauders had all gathered outside to see what was going on. Doc started asking Kevin all kinds of questions about Nightmare, most of which, Kevin couldn't answer. Nightmare turned to Leena and asked:  
"Is he always like this?"  
"Yes Nightmare, unfortunately he is."  
Doc suddenly looked over at Leena.  
"Did you just take to the Gun Sniper?"  
"Dad, it's Gun Sniper Nightmare. And yes, I was talking to it."  
"So does that mean..."  
"Yeah Doc, it's an ultimate X." said Kevin, able to answer that question.  
"WOW! Another ultimate X to design components for.!"  
"Not this time Doc." Kevin interjected.  
"Oh, why not?"  
"There's only one modification I want to make to Nightmare."  
"Well can I at least help with the modification?"  
"Don't worry Doc, you're an essential person in the development of the modification."  
"All right! What kind of component are we developing?"  
"Ion Boosters. Kind of like the ones on a normal Gun Sniper, but with the Liger Zero's power."  
"Cool. Draw up how you want them to look and I'll get to work right away." Doc jogged off, muttering to himself.  
"That'll give him something constructive to do for a while." said Jamie.  
"Yup." said Bit. Kevin turned to Leena and Nightmare.  
"You two want to go for a test run?" The two of them were eager to get to know one another better.  
  
Jamie watched in awe as Kevin and Leena spared. Siege had merged with the Spiner, and even still, it looked like Kevin was giving it his all. Leena and Nightmare had bonded instantly. And it seemed that they were easily keeping Kevin and Siege on their toes. Nightmare was extremely fast, despite the large weapons it carried. It packed almost as much fire power as the Spiner, and Kevin had to keep using his shield and ion shield. He listened to them over the comm.  
"Are you even trying?" asked Leena.  
"Yes!" said Kevin, obviously out of breath.  
"Your kidding right?"  
"No, Nightmare moves like the Fox! Your hard as hell to even get into my sights."  
"That's what you get for piloting a lumbering Zoid."  
"LUMBERING!?!?!" Kevin shouted.  
"Here we go." said Jamie.  
"I'll show you lumbering!" Kevin charged Leena, showing more determination than he'd ever seen. Leena jumped over the Spiner, avoiding the sail. Doing so put her into the firing arc of the Spiner's mini-defense cannons. The guns peppered Nightmare's armor. Leena did a 180 degree turn and fired her hip mounted vulcan cannons. Her shots missed being that Kevin engaged his repulsor engines. After a few more minutes, Kevin had lost his advantage. Leena was pushing herself, and so was Kevin. Eventually, Kevin decided to call things off.  
"Hey Leena," he said panting.  
"Yeah?" She was out of breath too. Both Zoids showed signs of fatigue.  
"You want to call it a day?"  
"Sure, why not. I'm out of ammo anyway."  
"Took you long enough to run out."  
"Stop whining. You should help me with the way Nightmare's boosters are going to look."  
"Fine by me."   
  
As Kevin and Leena were leaving the hanger, they could hear Siege, Liger, and Nightmare talking.   
"They sound like they're going to be good friends."  
"Uh huh."  
  
They found a lounge that was empty and went to work. Their end result was a booster that was more stream-lined than the normal Gun Sniper's, but retained the eight shot missile pod. The back end opened like on the Liger, so they didn't look like boosters at first glance. Leena and Kevin took the plans to Doc and he immediately got to work. The next few days, technicians and mechanics were scrambling to get the work done. When they finished, Leena took them for a test run. The boosters worked flawlessly.  
"Great work Doc." Kevin congratulated Doc.  
"Did you have any doubts?"  
"No, I guess not." said Kevin, watching Nightmare run along with her boosters engaged. Leena came over and hopped out of nightmare. She ran over to Doc and gave him a hug.  
"Thanks dad. The boosters are great."  
"No problem Leena."  
  
Two days after Leena and Nightmare tested the boosters, a small scout force was detected approaching the base. Kevin and Leena were the only ones deployed, being that they were some of the few who's Zoids were in good working order. The Marauders were the only ones whose Zoids seemed to be fine.   
"Could you hang back Kev? I want to see how Nightmare and I do in actual combat."  
"Fine, just let me know if you need any help."  
"Sure thing."  
  
Leena charged the enemy scouts which consisted of Rev Raptors. Leena finish the fight in just a few minutes.  
"How's that for a short fight?"  
"I'm impressed. It took you about as much time to take them out as it would a group of republican Zoids."  
"Thanks." said Leena and Nightmare in unison.   
  
Once back at base, it was decided to pack up and leave. If the scouts had gotten any info back to the imperial strike force, than they would be here soon. As they were getting ready to leave, the Marauders got notice that they were to head to the base at the republic capitol. They wanted to look over the Gun Sniper Nightmare.  
  
Once at the republic base, there was no time wasted in getting Nightmare in to be scanned. The entire Marauders team watched the process. Everyone was eager to see what an organoid system looked like. Doc had seen what the Liger's system looked like, but he wanted to see if Nightmare's system looked the same. When the photos were shown, the system resembled Siege's head. Except it wasn't as sleek.  
"That's exactly how Liger's system looked." said Doc.  
"Well, that's not how Siege looked when I thought he was permanently bonded to the Spiner."  
"How'd he look?" asked Naomi.  
"He looked a lot like he did now, except you couldn't see any of the spines. He was also suspended above the Zoid core, not encased within it."  
"So it wasn't a true ultimate X, it was half and half." said Doc.  
"Half and half?" asked Leena.  
"Half Zoid bonded with Organoid, half Ultimate X."  
"Interesting, very interesting." murmured Kevin. Everyone was so lost in thought, that they didn't notice the man watching them from the doorway. 


	11. Cold War

Disclaimer:I forgot to do this last chapter; I'm giving credit to Sakurabubbles for coming up with the Gun Sniper Nightmare, one of the best Zoids I've ever heard of(besides the Dark Spiner)  
  
  
Kevin stared out the Hover Cargo's view port and thought back a few days.  
  
"Sorry to interrupt Marauders, but we have a new assignment for you."  
"What is it sir?" said Kevin, looking at General Drack. He was one of the most renowned generals in the republic army. He also held a deep respect for the Marauders.  
"The empire has set up a military base in the mountains close to the republic border. We want you to go give support to the republic base on our side of the border."  
"Yes sir."  
  
His thoughts came back to the present when Leena got his attention. She handed him the cup of hot coco he had asked for when she said she was going to the kitchen. Kevin stared back out the view port. 'Why'd it have to be in the mountains? And in a snowy area on top of that?'   
"What's up Kevin?" asked Doc, seeing Kevin's frown.  
"Nothing, I just HATE the cold." Not that he wasn't used to it. He had grown up in a temperate climate, he just hated cold weather.  
"So you do have a weakness." said Naomi, mockingly.  
"Seems you have that same weakness. I noticed you're not wearing that skimpy outfit of yours anymore." he shot back.  
"So?" she replied, knowing she had been defeated.  
"Doc, what's our ETA?"  
"One hour."  
"Good." said Kevin, taking a sip of his coco.  
  
When the Marauders got to the base, they were given the rundown. Apparently, the imperial forces were well equipped. And the republic forces were waiting for supplies to arrive in two days. They had been sent here to help them hang on until then and to destroy the imperial base once things were in order.  
  
The Marauders were out on patrol the day after they arrived. So far, everything had been quite until Jamie said he picked up multiple objects on radar.  
"How many Zoids Jamie?" asked Brad.  
"A full battalion. They're not moving either."  
"Something's not right." said Kevin, dropping the Spiner into a defensive position. Siege let out a low rumble and then merged with the Spiner. Bit started moving forward.  
"What's the big deal? We've defeated more Zoids than this before."  
"Still..." replied Kevin, trailing off.  
"They're on the move!" shouted Jamie.  
"Sleepers!" shouted Kevin, surprised.  
"What?" said Leena, opening fire on the Zoids moving under the snow.  
"Sleepers, they lie in wait for enemy Zoids. When they detect them, they attack them. Doesn't seem right though. From what I remember, the empire uses Rev Raptors as sleepers."  
"Well, these aren't Rev Raptors." said Bit. When Kevin saw a gun rise above the snow, he realized what they were.  
"Heldigunners!" he shouted.  
"Not good." said Jamie. He couldn't hit them while they were underground, so he was pretty much useless.  
  
Kevin turned the Spiner and found a large black Zoid leaping at him. He dodged it and looked at the Heldigunner. It was jet black. 'Great, they're using the new models.' He took it out and moved on to another sleeper.  
  
Naomi had positioned herself on a ledge and was picking off sleeper after sleeper as they would jump for anyone on the ground.  
  
Leon and Bit were working in tandem, Leon delivering the disabling blow, and Bit finishing the job. Brad was working much the same way with Kevin.  
  
After about 20 minutes, the sleepers were strewn around, the wreckage smoking.  
"Well, that was fun." said Bit sarcastically.  
"Right. Come on, we've got to get back to base and report this."  
"Roger." said everyone.  
  
While their pilots were in getting debriefed, the Zoids decided to talk about what happened. Siege, Spiner, Liger, and Nightmare looked at one another and then looked at the other Zoids. Spiner spoke first.  
"Been a long time since I've fought any sleepers." he said, rumbling thoughtfully.  
"Don't you mean 'we'?" asked Siege. Spiner looked down at Siege.  
"Right..."  
"You aren't the only one who's fought sleepers you know." said Liger.  
"Liger and I have both fought sleepers before, just never Heldigunners." she said, unconfidently.  
"Don't worry about it Nightmare." said Blade.  
"So Spiner, what kind of Zoids are usually used as sleepers." asked Red Liger.  
"Usually Rev Raptors and Guysacks. I've really only ever fought Guysacks though. Being that I'm an Imperial made Zoid."  
"Don't worry about it Spiner." said Red Comet.  
"Thanks. Raynos, any input?"  
"Not really. I was pretty much useless in the fight." he said, letting out a shallow rumble, and lowering his head.  
"Hey, chill out Raynos. You did save my butt remember." said Fox.  
"True, guess I wasn't that useless." he said, crowing. Spiner looked towards the hanger entrance.  
"What is it?" asked Nightmare.  
"Things don't look well for the republic. The Death Stinger is too powerful, even for Siege and I."  
"He's kidding right?" Liger asked Siege.  
"No, unfortunately not."  
  
Kevin walked up to General Drack. He had come to the base with the supply convoy.  
"How is the development of the KG coming sir?"  
"Coming along fine. It'll be ready within the week."  
"That fast?"  
"Things are coming along much better than expected."  
"Well, that's good. We're going to need the KG to battle the Death Stinger."  
"Agreed." said Drack, using Kevin's usual response. Kevin looked at the man and chuckled.  
  
Kevin walked into the hanger to see what Zoids had been brought. He found himself looking at the republic's newest type of Zoid, the Saber Lion. He looked at the Zoids in awe.  
"Impressive aren't they?" said the man who walked up beside Kevin. Kevin turned to him.  
"Harry?" he said in surprise.  
"Yup."  
"What are you doing here?"  
"I pilot a Saber Lion now."  
"And your robots?" Kevin said, looking at Harry, impressed that he was piloting such a Zoid.  
"Technicians. They didn't prove effective enough in battle."  
"Doesn't surprise me."  
"So do you like the Saber Lions?"  
"Works of art. Head seem a little clunky though."  
"That's only because of the large blade on the head and the stabilizers on the sides of the head."  
"Really?" said Kevin, amazed at the amount of common sense and knowledge Harry had gained in a years time.  
"Nice seeing you again Kevin."  
"Same here. Oh, watch out for Siege while you're here." Kevin said, chuckling.  
"No problem."  
  
The day after the assault of the imperial base, the republic counted it's loses. The battle was won easily by the republic. And they had lost only two Zoids. But their victory was short lived. The imperial assault force that had destroyed the base the Marauders originally operated out of attacked the mountain base. The republic was doing fine, until their three war horses showed up. Zephyr and Isaac tore trough republican Zoids like they were nothing. The Death Stinger waited on the side lines and took out the occasional Zoid. Until it started charging it's gun. Kevin wasn't in the Blade Liger or Spiner either. He hadn't been able to make it to the Hover Cargo when the battle began. He and Siege ended up with a Leomaster class Shield Liger.  
  
"This is lovely isn't it Siege?" said Kevin, complaining about the Zoid. He was used to piloting much more maneuverable Zoids. This Shield Liger was heavier than a normal Shield Liger, and it wasn't easy to pilot.   
"It's not my fault it was the only Zoid left." said Siege.  
"Whatever."   
  
Kevin was fighting Zephyr, and losing, badly. He got the upper hand though. Kevin had spun his Zoid 360 degrees and brought himself inside the Geno Breaker's shield deployment area. Kevin fired his heavy beam cannons and took off the Geno Breaker's buster claws. Isaac came up and knocked Kevin aside. Kevin was about to fight back when an order came over the com.  
  
"All republic units retreat. Repeat, all republic units retreat."  
"Kevin, get back to the Hover Cargo!" came Doc's voice over the com. Kevin looked at the transport that was a couple hundred meters away and getting farther from Kevin. He also saw the column of imperial Zoids between him and the transport.  
"I can't make it, go on without me."  
"Are you nuts? You'll be killed!" shouted a hysterical Leena.  
"Not likely." said Kevin, opening fire with everything he had, destroying Zoid after Zoid.  
"At least try and keep up with us!" shouted Leena again.  
"I won't be able to. I'll catch up to you, don't worry."  
"But-"  
"GO!!!"  
"All right."  
"Leon, your in command for now." Kevin said before cutting the com link. Kevin looked at the imperial Zoids.  
"Let's see what you've got!" shouted, jumping into the mass of them.  
  
Leon's face wore a shocked expression. Kevin had not only handed over command to him, but also disappeared in the mass of Zoids. Leon looked around the bridge. Leena was crying, their dad holding her in his arms and trying to comfort her. Jamie and Bit were sitting there, with the same expression that Leon had. Brad and Naomi were holding each other, Naomi looking extremely worried. Kevin had been a superb leader, and a good friend. They thought he had died before, and he had managed to survive, but this time, things didn't look so promising. Leon spoke up finally.  
"All right everyone, were going back to the capitol to come up with a way to give the imperials hell and kick their asses permanently." Bit spoke up first.  
"I'm with ya Leon. We can't let the empire get away with what they just did. They took someone that we held dear, and now we're going to deal that pain back to them. 1,000 fold." Leena stood up and looked out at the shrinking battlefield.   
"I agree with Bit. Once Nightmare and I are through with the empire, they'll wish they'd never been born."  
  
Kevin and Siege walked away from the battered Shield Liger. The two of them had done a considerable amount of damage before having to finally retreat. They had made it to the foot of the mountain before the Liger fell over, dead. Kevin and Siege now trudged through the pine forest that lay at the foot of the mountain. Kevin remembered seeing a town before they entered the mountains, and hopefully, the two of them would come across it. 


	12. Looming Darkness

Disclaimer:still the same  
  
  
Leon looked at the computer screen in front of him. It bore almost the exact same thing it always did. That the Death Stinger was showing an unusual amount of appearances when the Marauders were concerned in a battle. There was some good news though. Apparently, this Death Stinger is not as powerful as the original. It was about half the size, and possessed a little more than half the originals power. It was still powerful enough to destroy a military base though. Leon sighed to himself. Things had gotten harder since Kevin was lost in that battle. It had been almost a month, Leon realized. It had seemed like only a few days though. As if losing him wasn't bad enough, Kevin's Blade Liger and Dark Spiner had gone off looking for him. The good thing was that they would periodically check in with Leena. He sighed again and left his office.  
  
Kevin and Siege trudged through the desert. They had been walking for almost a month, but it seemed like years. Kevin looked around. Everything always looked the same, except for the occasional village. At nightfall, Kevin stopped and turned to Siege.  
"You know the drill pal." Siege nodded his head. His chest opened and multiple wires shot out and wrapped around Kevin. He frowned. He'd never get used to the gut wrenching speed that Siege used to pull Kevin in. Once he was one with Siege, an interesting thought washed over Kevin. He and Siege were now basically of one body, but still of two minds. Kevin decided not to dwell on it as he fell asleep.  
  
The Marauders sat in a room listening to General Drack. They had come to find out about the new Zoid in development, the KG, or King Gojalus. It had been finished, it just had to complete the testing stage. They came to find out that Kevin and General Drack found the Zoid, and thus became the heads of it's development. It turned out to be a very powerful Zoid, having more firepower than an Ultrasaurus, and it was also larger. Not by much, but it was. It had three huge chain guns embedded in it's chest, and could be modified to carry much more than just those chain guns. Leena nearly fainted over the fact that a Zoid could be equipped with so much weaponry. When Drack asked if there were any questions, Leon didn't miss a beat.  
"Who will pilot the King Gojalus General?"  
"We don't know yet Leon, very few pilots have shown the ability to even move the Zoid."  
"What about you?" asked Brad, knowing full well General Drack's reputation as a Zoid pilot. He was second only to Kevin.  
"Hadn't thought of that." he said in all honesty.  
"I guess I will try the KG out. Who knows, maybe I'll be the one who'll be able to pilot it."  
"I know you will General." said Bit.  
"Thanks Bit." said Drack.  
  
"You really think Drack will be able to pilot the KG Bit?" asked Leon.  
"I know he will."   
  
As the group walked down the hall ways of the base, Harry came running up to Leena.  
"What is it Harry?" she asked.  
"We've got a message from the Dark Spiner. We need Nightmare to translate." he said panting.  
"No problem, patch it trough to the hanger so Nightmare can hear it."  
"Got it." he said running off to the comm room. Everyone turned around to see Leena already down the hall and rounding the corner.  
  
When Leena started to hear Nightmare's translation, she started translating herself.  
"We have traveled very far and have finally sensed something familiar. Good and bad." Leena paused to listen to the two Zoids converse.  
"Kevin is somewhere within 300 miles of our current position." A cheer went up throughout the base.  
"And the bad news?" Nightmare asked Spiner. Spiner seemed to sigh. Leena started to translate, her voice croaking every now and again.  
"A darkness is moving towards the capitol. A very large one. Whatever it is, it possess great power. And it may be more than one thing coming to the capitol." A look of genuine fear crossed the entire Marauders team's faces.  
"You don't think it's..." said Naomi, trailing off.  
"Unfortunately, I do." said someone walking up behind the Marauders. They turned around to see a woman with a beautiful figure and blue-green hair.  
"Pierce!" shouted Jamie.  
"Yeah, it's me. I've been assigned to the Marauders team."  
"But weren't you with the Backdraft?" asked Leon suspiciously.  
"I was, until my last battle with Bit."  
"Right. What do you pilot?" asked Bit.  
"Storm Sworder. Normal, no modifications. I got rid of the one Laon gave me."  
"Nice to see you again then, Little Lady." said Jamie with a gleam in his eye.  
"Why, you're that little punk!" she shouted, exasperated.  
"Insults will get you no where." Jamie said confidently. He was only 16, but seemed to hold some kind of attraction to Pierce.  
"Whatever. Lets just get her Storm Sworder loaded and ready for combat." said Doc.  
"Fine by me." Pierce said, glaring at Jamie, who was smiling like Leena after she won an argument.  
  
Kevin and Siege were trudging through the desert, as they usually did.  
"This is pathetic." said Kevin.  
"During the day, you can die of heat stroke, and at night you can die of hypothermia." he said, grumbling.  
"It's a desert, why can't it just stay hot." mumbled Kevin.  
"Don't look at me, I'm just a simple organoid." said Siege sarcastically.  
"Shut up." Kevin replied, wiping the sweat off his brow. He then thought he saw a village of in the distance.  
  
"Warlord Prozen, do you think it's wise to pilot the Death Stinger yourself in the assault on the capitol of the republic?" asked Isaac.  
"I will be fine. The Death Stinger can withstand whatever they have set up for defense." he replied with practiced grace.  
"Whatever you say sir." said Isaac, still unsure. Liger Zero X kept telling him he had a bad feeling about what was to come, and Isaac agreed. Zephyr didn't question Prozen's reasons, he just followed orders. Even though it wasn't the original Death Stinger, it could still defeat the Geno Breaker with ease. So he just watched and waited. But he also had the nagging feeling of doubt like Isaac. 


	13. It Begins

Disclaimer:if you don't know what this is for, go ask someone else  
  
  
It had been a month since Kevin had gone missing, and no one was ready to admit he was dead until they found his body. Leena especially. She hadn't been herself lately. She was sitting by Nightmare at the moment. They were both staring at the night sky.  
"Do you think what Spiner sensed was just Kevin's body?" she asked her Zoid. It replied with a low rumble.  
"Doubtful. A Zoid can only sense their pilots if they are still alive."  
"So you mean..."  
"Spiner and Blade will bring Kevin and Siege back in the near future."  
"That's good." Leena said softly, gazing at the moons. She then gazed off at the earth.  
"Maybe we should see about taking a vacation to earth when the war is over."  
"Sounds good." replied Nightmare.  
  
Kevin and Siege walked out of the village he had seen. He hadn't even been there for 5 minutes before he was kicked out. When he had asked someone where he could find a motel, he found himself staring down the barrel of a pistol. Siege quickly dealt with that little problem, but the village didn't want anything to do with the war, so he had been kicked out.  
"Man, I just asked about a hotel. I can't help it if I'm in command of an elite military unit."  
"People should know better than to draw a gun around you anyways." grumbled Siege, a little angrily. Kevin laughed.  
"This is true my friend, this is true." he said throwing his right arm around the 10 foot tall organoid. Kevin looked at Siege for the millionth time. His golden eyes looked soothing and dangerous at the same time. He was considered a dragon type organoid, because of the spines on his head. He was extremely dangerous when angered, but usually very calm and collected. The two's emotions rubbed off on each other to a certain extent, and they had similar personalities, so they fit together like pieces of a puzzle. Kevin took his arm off Siege and the two continued to trudge through the desert.   
  
The Marauders were currently engaged in combat. The empire kept sending scout troops to test the republic's defenses, and the Marauders kept deploying the Marauders so they wouldn't be able to find out.  
"Jamie, Black Redler 10 o'clock high." said Leon, seeing the Zoid pass over his Liger.  
"On it Leon." said Jamie, he and Pierce flying after it.  
"How are things on you end Naomi?"  
"No problems here."  
"Brad and Leena?"  
"We're good." came Leena's reply.   
"Good." Leon went for the next Rev Raptor and tore it to shreds with his blades. He turned to another and blasted it's head off. This went on for another few minutes. Eventually, every imperial Zoid had been turned into wreckage.  
"Well done Marauders." congratulated Leon.  
  
Back at base, Leon was sitting on his Blade Liger when Leena came over to talk to him.   
"Still worried about Kevin, huh Leon?" Leena asked him simply.  
"Yeah, I still don't know whether he's dead or not."   
"Choose not." said Leena, smiling.  
"Huh?"  
"Nightmare told me that if Spiner sensed Kevin, he's still alive. He wouldn't have been able to sense him if he was dead." Leon breathed a sigh of relief.  
"Being in command tiring you out big bro?"  
"Yeah. It's a lot more work than I thought."  
"Well, You aren't the only one who has to deal with so much paperwork. Being second in command has it's disadvantages you know."  
"Really now?" Leon said, nudging Leena the way he used to when the two of them were younger.  
"Oh shut up." she said, nudging him back. Leena hopped off the Liger and walked away. For the next few minutes, Leon listened to Nightmare and Liger Zero talk before leaving the hanger. 'Wish I knew what they were saying.' Leon thought as he walked away.  
  
Kevin and Siege had walked through the desert for almost more two weeks, and they were both on the brink of exhaustion. The two of them finally fell over, unable to go on any longer. Siege lost consciousness first. Before Kevin blacked out, he thought he saw a truck coming towards them.  
  
The Marauders were deployed again, this time with the republics full defense force. The empire was done with the scout forces, they were going all out.  
"Is everyone set?" asked Leon. Everyone acknowledged.  
"Then be ready."   
  
The group watched the imperial Zoids advanced. The Zoids ranged from Molgas to Great Zabers. From behind the main force, Prozen, Zephyr, and Isaac watched.  
"This should be interesting." said Prozen, looking at the amount of Gojalus that had been deployed. He then saw an Ultrasaurus in the background. He frowned.  
"Be ready you two."  
  
Kevin woke up, expecting to see sand in every direction, but he found himself looking around the room of someone's house. Siege had been laid out next to the bed. He woke up not long after Kevin got out of bed and started looking around. The two of them walked into the next room to find a young woman sitting on a couch.  
"Oh, you're awake." she said, looking at Kevin and Siege sweetly. He walked over to a chair and sat down, Siege curling up at his feet.  
"Thanks for taking me in, no one else would." he said, looking around.  
"It was no problem at all." Kevin looked back at her.  
"How long was I out?" he asked.  
"Three days. Both of you." she said motioning to Siege.  
"Your not afraid of him?"  
"No, there's really no reason to fear them."  
"You sound like you've had experience with them"  
"No, just heard stories about the one that was partnered with one of my ancestors."  
"Right." Kevin said, walking over to look at the picture that Siege had gotten up to investigate. In the picture was a man with black hair who had his arm around a woman with blond hair. Standing next to them was a silver organoid. The three of them looked vaguely familiar. Kevin dismissed it. He was about to thank the woman for her hospitality and leave when his stomach rumbled rather loudly.  
"Um, you wouldn't happen to have anything to eat would you?" he said, shyly.  
"No problem, I'll fix you something to eat."  
  
After Kevin had eaten and thanked her for one of the best meals he'd ever had, he walked out side. She walked him to the edge of the village.  
"By, the way, what's the name of this village?"  
"You're currently in the Wind Colony."  
"Thanks. Oh, and thanks again for your hospitality."  
"No problem." As Kevin and Siege turned to leave, they saw a large dust cloud off in the distance.  
"I couldn't be the empire, could it?" the woman asked.  
"Don't think so." Kevin said, making out the outline of two Zoids. When they got closer, Kevin realized what they were. Kevin jumped in the air and cheered. Siege was extremely happy too.  
"What's with you guys?"  
"We just got the biggest lucky break of our lives!" Kevin shouted as the Zoids came to a stop in front of him.  
"Spiner, Blade good to see you!"  
"And you." Spiner rumbled. Kevin had hopped up into the Spiner and Siege had merged with the Liger.  
"Thanks again!" Kevin shouted, before he closed the cockpit and jetted off.  
"Those two are very strange." she said.  
  
The empire and republic were going all out. There were major casualties on both sides. But the republic had the advantage. They had many more Zoids to deploy, and General Drack had yet to deploy the KG. Things tipped in the empire's favor when Prozen sent Isaac and Zephyr into the fray. The republic thought all was lost. They then picked up two signatures coming in behind the empires forces. One broke for the republic base. The other went towards the battle field. Prozen looked at the Death Stinger's radar in dismay.  
"If that's who I think it is, I'm going to have to destroy the capitol." he muttered.  
  
"Siege, open all the leg vents and use them to give us some more speed." Siege roared in agreement and opened the vents. The Spiner lurched forward.   
  
"That Zoid just went trough a major speed boost." said Doc.  
"How?" asked Drack over the comm system.  
"I won't know until I see the Zoid, but it's traveling at almost 400 kilometers per hour."  
"That's impossible..." said Drack, trailing off.  
"Apparently not." Doc watched the radar until he could get a fix on the Zoids signature. It turned out to be the Zoid he least expected.  
"It's the Dark Spiner!"  
"What?" shouted Leena.  
"The Spiner, it's traveling much faster than even the Lightning Saix can."  
"How in gods name is that possible?" asked Bit. Doc brought up the Spiner on camera.  
"Kevin's opened all the leg vents, he using them to add on speed."  
"How long will he last at that speed?" asked Pierce.  
"I don't know." replied Doc.  
"Guys, tell me I'm not seeing this." said Brad. Everyone turned in the direction that Brad was facing. The Death Stinger was charging it's particle gun.  
"All units, attack the Death Stinger!" shouted Leon.  
"Negative! All units, stick to the battle you are currently fighting, I'll get the Death Stinger."  
"Kevin?"   
"That'd be me Leena!" Leena lost focus for a moment and was almost cut in half again by Isaac.  
"You are going to suffer the same fate as last time." Isaac hissed.  
"Doubtful. Liger Zero X remembers the moves of my Gun Sniper, not the Gun Sniper Nightmare's."  
"Oh shit." was all Isaac could say. Leena opened up with her hip mounted gattling guns. Isaac barely managed to dodge.   
"How is you Zoid so fast?"  
"You ain't the only one with an ultimate X now pal."  
"Not good."  
  
The rest of the Marauders team was focused on Zephyr. His shield was on the brink of failing under the heavy fire. When it finally did, Zephyr went on the offensive and managed to take out Leon and Brad before Naomi took him down. They turned to Leena and found the Nightmare walking towards them, the Liger Zero X lying on the ground, smoldering.  
  
"Siege, how long until the Death Stinger can fire?" Kevin asked, through gritted teeth.   
"Not Long." he hissed.  
"Will we make it in time?"  
"Hopefully." he replied with a growl.  
"Then send power from everything except the shield and life support to the thrusters."  
"Done." The Spiner started moving even faster.  
"I don't know how much longer I'll last at this speed." said Kevin, looking at his speedometer, it showing that he was going 425 kilometers per hour.  
  
Prozen was about to fire when the Spiner hit him from the side, it's shield engaged. He saw the shield on the Death Stinger's shield flicker out of existence, along with the Spiner's. He was sent flying by the force of the blow. He looked over at the Ultrasaurus. It had trained all it's guns on the Death Stinger.  
"All imperial units retreat!" he shouted, burrowing under the ground. Zephyr and Isaac had somehow managed to get up and run.  
"Should we go after them?" asked Jamie.  
"No." said Kevin from the Spiner. Everyone looked over at the Spiner. all of it's vents were open, including the ones on the tail. Massive amounts of heat were coming off the Spiner. Bit looked at in amazement.  
"It's giving off more heat then the when the Liger overheats from the Panzer armor!" he said in surprise.  
"You're right." said Pierce landing.  
"Kevin, can you jettison the Spiner's armor?" Doc asked.  
"Nope, the Spiner won't cool as quickly because it doesn't have vents under the armor."  
"Will you be okay?" Leena asked, worriedly.  
"Yeah, I'll be fine." Kevin said, opening the cockpit.   
  
The armored section opened forwards then the view port opened backwards. Kevin jumped out of the Spiner and landed, lacking the grace he usually had. Siege landed next to him. Heat was rising off his body and he looked just a little angry. He turned to Kevin and growled at him.  
"What? How was I supposed to know this would happen?" he replied nervously. Siege rumbled in annoyance and opened up his thrusters and chest so he would cool faster. Kevin shrugged his shoulders and pulled off his gloves, coat, and shirt. Kevin threw them on the ground next to him and looked up at the Spiner. He was surprised to see how much heat was actually coming off the Spiner.  
"You okay Spiner?" Kevin asked the Zoid. Spiner lowered his head to stare eye to eye with Kevin.  
"I will be." he rumbled, angrily.  
"Why does everyone hate me all the sudden?"  
"Forget it, let's just no to do that again." Spiner said, rising. Kevin turned around to find Leena running at him. She tackled him and kissed him mid-fall. When they hit the ground, Kevin got the wind knocked out of him.   
"It's nice to see you to Leena. I'll return the kiss as soon as I stop seeing red and can find you." Kevin said, sitting up. He was rubbing his eyes and blinking a lot to try and get his vision back. After the blood drained from his eyes, Kevin stood up and turned to his teammates.   
"So Leon, did you like being in command?"  
"Not much. It's way to tiring." Kevin flashed him a grin.  
"You know what guys?" Kevin asked.  
"No..." replied Leena.  
"Lets talk later, right now I want to take a shower, get something to eat, and sleep. And don't wake me up for a week."  
"Fine by us." said Pierce.  
"When did you get hear?" Kevin asked, surprised.  
"Like you said, we can talk later." 


	14. The Republican army

Disclaimer:it's the same as it's always been  
  
  
Kevin was resting in a lounge. He had been true to his word, and would had have slept for more than a week if Leena hadn't woken him up. Kevin opened one eye and looked over at the door when he heard it open. Leena walked through. Kevin closed his eye. Kevin was about to drift off into sleep when Leena tossed his legs onto the floor.  
"How ya' feeling?"  
"I was feeling fine until you threw my legs onto the floor." Leena grinned.  
"I wanted to talk to you." she said, her expression now solemn.  
"About?"  
"The Death Stinger."  
"Oh."  
"Kevin, you almost died just attacking it. What are we going to do when we have to fight it again?"  
"Use the KG."  
"And if that doesn't work?" Kevin's expression darkened.  
"I was hoping you wouldn't ask that."  
  
The republic was getting prepared for an all out assault. When Kevin got the list, he was glad the decided to figure the numbers out for him, cause he wouldn't have been to figure them out. Kevin didn't even know the republic had this many Zoids. He wandered through the main hanger. He had lost count around three hundred and fifty-four. At that point, Leena came up to him to let him know it was time to leave.  
  
  
  
  
Upon reaching the imperial border, the republic encountered little resistance. Kevin looked over the heavy assault Zoids arrayed on the holographic radar. He counted 5 Ultrasaurus, 20 Gojalus, and 35 Mark II Mad Thunders. There were literally hundreds of Zoids moving around these Zoids. Bit walked over and looked at the display.  
"Incredible. I didn't even know the republic had this many Zoids to deploy."  
"Me either." said Kevin.   
"Where's the King Gojalus anyway?"  
"Following behind us." Kevin replied, zooming out on the image. It showed the KG about 20 kilometers behind them. It was being escorted by a group of Konig Wolves.  
  
A few days after crossing the imperial border, the republic met with some resistance. A group of 20 Command Wolves were all that was needed. The empire had only deployed Molgas. The entire battle lasted only 10 minutes.  
"The empire should be putting up stronger defenses being that we're advancing into their territory."  
"So what do you think it means?" asked Pierce, walking up next to him.  
"They're testing us."  
"Again?" asked Leon.  
"Apparently. They're going to keep testing us for a while, at least until they can gage our strength."  
"And when they do?" Bit asked.  
"Guess."  
"All out assault." Brad said.  
"Right." 


	15. Clones

Disclaimer:still the same, my devoted fans  
  
  
The republican army had just about reached the imperial capitol when the empire went all out. They had deployed everything they had to combat the republic. The damage to each side and the surrounding area was unbelievable. The Marauders were currently at the front of it all making their way to the city.  
"Jamie, three Redlers, five o'clock high!"  
"Roger!" Jamie did a snap roll and got behind them. He shot them down when an energy beam barely missed him. Kevin looked at the beams source.  
"Zephyr." he hissed.  
"You expected someone else?"  
"Not really." Kevin replied. From behind Zephyr the Liger Zero X appeared.  
"How ya been bro?" Isaac asked cockily.  
"I was better when you weren't around."  
"That's no way to greet your brother."  
"Shut up and fight!" yelled Leena. Before everyone could begin, multiple Zoids appeared from behind the buildings. Kevin looked around in disbelief.  
"It can't be..."  
"But it is!"   
  
The Zoids that had stepped out were Dark Spiners. They had red and green armor instead of blue and purple. The Zoid's main body was white, not black.  
"There's no way this is possible!" Kevin shouted, looking around.  
"Well, unfortunately for you, it is. These are our mass produced models. They're not as powerful as the original Dark Spiner, but they still have more power than a Geno Saurer."  
"Not good." muttered Doc from the Hover Cargo.   
"You are going to have to take these out before you take us."  
"Fine." Kevin declared, darkly.  
  
The Dark Spiner copies advanced, and Kevin made the first move. He charged the Spiner in front of him and smashed it into a building. It barely walked out of the rubble. As it did, it wobbled, hardly able to stand.  
"Apparently, they're not as good as you made them out to be Zephyr."  
"That's only because you caught that one off guard, the rest will be much more careful around you."  
"What, don't they have pilots?"  
"Oh, they do. And they're the best in the Empire. They can use a Molga to destroy a republic base if they wanted to."  
"That's good, but not good enough to beat me."  
"What do you mean?"  
"I can tear a city apart with only the Spiner's teeth and claws."  
"You're bluffing." Zephyr said, worriedly.  
"Really?" Kevin said. He charged the damaged Spiner in front of him and neatly cut it's head off it's neck with only a single swipe. The imperial Spiners all took a step back.  
"That may be so, but you guys are vastly outnumbered." Zephyr said. Kevin looked around and found this to be true. For every one of his teammates, there were four Spiners.  
  
"Naomi, get into a sniping position."  
"On it!" Naomi proceed to climb up the nearest building. One of the copy Spiners tried to get her in it's sites, but Brad rammed it, knocking it off balance. It's shot went wide. Naomi looked at how close the shot had come to her. A window directly under her had been shot out, and there was a hole in the roof.  
"Thanks Brad."  
"No problem."  
"Jamie, Pierce. You two need to make quick passes and do as much damage to them and as little to us as possible."  
"Right." the two said in unison.  
"Everyone else, waste em'."  
  
Everyone started engaging the copy Spiners. Bit was being bothered by five of them, so Kevin came in and threw one against a building. Bit then used his Strike Laser Claw to take out another. The third one was coming up behind Bit when it fell to the ground. Kevin and Bit turned their Zoids around to see a hole in the Spiners neck.   
"Thanks Naomi."  
"No prob."  
  
Brad had gotten four Spiners to follow him and had released his smokescreen. Even with the sensors the Dark Spiner possessed, they were having trouble finding the Fox. Brad came up behind one of them and shot it's leg off. The next two got a Strike Laser Claw to the neck. Brad took out one more and Naomi picked off the last one.  
  
Zephyr and Isaac were amazed at how quickly the number of Spiners was thinning. The Marauders showed a skill they hadn't possessed before.  
  
Leena and Leon were working in tandem. Leena was weakening one Spiner after another with her barrages and Leon would deliver the finishing blow. Their fight lasted about three minutes.  
  
The Marauders had finished off all the Spiner clones. They turned to Zephyr and Isaac.  
"Oh, did I forget to mention that you have to fight one more person?"  
"Yes, you neglected to tell us that."  
"Well, you do. Mick?" A Dark Spiner that looked exactly like Kevin's walked out.  
"The original I suppose?" Pierce asked.  
"It is." replied a new voice.  
"Who is that?"  
"That would be Mick, the Empire's best pilot." replied Isaac.  
"All right then, the best pilot the Republic has will fight the Empire's best pilot." Kevin declared.  
"And who might that be?" Mick asked cockily.  
"Me." Kevin replied.  
"Finally, a real fight." Mick said.  
"You expecting to win?" Kevin asked.  
"No doubt I will."  
"We will see. Siege!" Siege walked up to the edge of the roof on a nearby building.  
"You mean he hadn't even had the organoid merged with his Zoid!" Mick shouted, surprised.  
"Bingo." Siege started glowing and merged with the Spiner. The Spiner roared with new power.  
"This might not be as easy as I thought."  
"Oh, it won't be."  
  
The two Dark Spiners stared each other down. Each pilot was waiting for the other to make a move. Mick attacked first. He opened up with his shoulder cannons. Kevin dodged behind a building and came off the top of it, attempting to crush his opponent. Mick hovered out of the way. 'So he has repulsor units too.' Kevin thought.  
"Mick, one thing I want to ask of you."  
"Yes?"  
"That we don't used the charged particle guns."  
"Fine."  
'Good, that ensures no one will get hurt.' thought Kevin.  
  
The two Dark Spiners played a game of cat and mouse for almost twenty minutes. One would attack, the other would dodge. Mick was getting the advantage though, as Kevin was growing weary from all his fights and was starting to make mistakes. Mick took advantage of this and knocked Kevin to the ground. As he was about to deliver the final blow, an Iron Kong burst out of the building next to the two of them and smashed the Dark Spiner Mick was in to pieces.  
"Who are you?" Kevin asked, finally getting a chance to reach for the water bottle he had thrown in the cockpit before he left. Loud gulping was heard over the comm.  
"Kevin, could you come up for air so he can tell us who he is?"  
"Yeah, sure Leena." Kevin replied panting. The Iron Kong pilot introduced himself.  
"Harry Champ at your service." Harry said, in his most gallant voice. Everyone's jaw dropped, including all the Zoid's.  
"You have got to be kidding me!" said an astonished Bit.  
"There's no way Harry could've beaten Mick when Kevin had so much trouble with him." said Brad.  
"I hate to say it, but he did." Kevin said.  
"How?" asked Pierce. She new that Harry was a fair pilot, nothing more.  
"He only beat him because he caught him by surprise."  
"Are you saying I don't have any skills as a Zoid pilot?!?!?" Harry shouted at Kevin.  
"Hit the nail on the head Einstein." Kevin said, making Harry even angrier.  
"Why you..."  
"Can it Harry, we have more important things to worry about." Leena said, motioning to the Geno Breaker and Liger Zero X.  
"Oh right."  
"You okay Kevin?" Leena asked.  
"Yup, the water helped."  
"Can we stop talking and fight already?" Zephyr asked, impatiently.  
"Fine by me Zephyr. Just be ready for the fight of your life."  
"Don't worry, I am." 


	16. The Beginning of the End

Disclaimer:same as it's always been  
  
  
The two sides stared each other down. Each was waiting patiently for the other to make a move. Except for Harry, he was anxious, wanting to impress Leena. So, on sheer impulse, he charged Zephyr and Isaac.  
"Harry, get back here! That's an order!" shouted Kevin.  
"You're not going to tell me what to do anymore! Especially after stealing my Leena from me!"  
"Harry, this is hardly the time or place!" shouted Leena. Harry didn't listen though, he kept running at Zephyr and Isaac. The Zero X's claws started glowing.  
"STRIKE LASER CLAW!!!" shouted Isaac.   
  
The Iron Kong fell into three pieces. The left arm and main body kept flying towards Zephyr before falling a few meters in front of him. The legs just fell after they were cut off.  
"Harry!" shouted Bit.  
"Siege, is he still alive?"  
"Yes he is, though I don't know why you care."  
"SIEGE!!"  
"Just kidding." Siege said, nervously.  
"Good."  
  
"Can we just skip standing around and fight all ready?" Zephyr asked his opponents.  
"Fine, you weren't the only one getting bored." Kevin said.  
"Then lets begin." Isaac said, walking up next to the Geno Breaker. The Zoids leapt into motion.  
  
Bit and Isaac were engaged in a furious battle. No one wanted to jump in, fearing that they'd get torn apart. Both Ligers might have been using their basic armors, but they could still tear every one else apart. Bit and Isaac used their Strike Laser Claws at the same time and ended up ramming each other instead. Bit got up first and fired his Shot cannon at Isaac. He dodged and returned fire. Bit dodged too, and charged Isaac again.  
  
Kevin had given the order for everyone except Bit to go help the republic army. After that, he turned the Dark Spiner to face the Geno Breaker.  
"So here we are again Zephyr, just like when you had your Geno Saurer."  
"Yes, hear we are again. But this time Kevin, you won't win. I will."  
"We'll see." said Kevin, his expression darkening.  
  
The Geno Breaker and Dark Spiner stared each other down, and time seemed to freeze around them. When they charged, they seemed to be moving in slow motion. Each Zoid let out a thundering roar and hit the other fighting. Zephyr tried to grab Kevin with one of his buster claws, but Kevin ducked below it and used his shoulder cannons to blow it off. Kevin didn't have time to react when the other buster claw came at him. It tore off the Spiner's pulse cannon and right arm. Kevin turned the Spiner's head and bit down on one of the blades. When Zephyr tried to break free, the blade broke. Kevin took a few steps back and Zephyr drove the Geno Breaker's horn into the Spiner's left arm and into the main body. The Spiner roared in pain and bit down on the Geno Breaker's back, destroying the thrusters. The Geno Breaker jerked backwards, breaking it's horn. Kevin and Zephyr looked at the horn. It was embedded in the Spiner. The Spiner pulled it out with it's teeth and moved the arm. The arm hardly moved at all. Zephyr took the opportunity to shoot at Kevin with his legs mounted guns. When Kevin dodged, Zephyr shot the Geno Breaker's left hand at the Spiner. Kevin engaged his repulsors and hovered in the air. The Breaker's hand flew under him harmlessly. Zephyr shot it at him again and this time, the Spiner caught the cord in it's left hand. Kevin spun the Spiner and threw Zephyr into a building. The Geno Breaker climbed out of the rubble and sent an electric current through the cable. The Spiner cringed and then bit down on the cable, severing it. The Breaker fell into the building again because of the sudden loose of tension. The Spiner landed and the Geno Breaker got up again. The two Zoids started to stare each other down again.  
  
Bit and Isaac had done considerable damage to each other. Each Liger was missing multiple pieces of it's armor, which was strewn around them.  
"You ready to give up yet little bro?" Isaac said, panting.  
"Not on your life." Bit said, panting too. The two Ligers had plenty of fight left, and they weren't going to back down for anything. Bit and Isaac charged each other again. The Ligers hit each other and clawed at one another's necks. Bit tried to tear the Zero X's throat out. Isaac managed to dodge, but Bit didn't stop there. He fired his shot cannon and blew Isaac's shot cannon off. The two Ligers jumped away from each other and revealed how much damage each had taken. What was left of their armor had huge gashes and scorch marks on them. And the Liger's themselves had sustained heavy damage.  
  
Zephyr and Kevin were about to charge again when the ground started to rumble. The Geno Breaker swung it's head around.  
"What's going on?" Zephyr asked, confused.  
"That's the republic's secret weapon."  
"What is it?" Zephyr said with wonder. "It's got to be pretty big if we can feel it before seeing it."  
"It's the King Gojulas. And yes it's big. And it has more firepower than an Ultrasaurus."  
"Impossible."  
"Nope. Look behind me." The Two Zoids turned to look at the massive Zoid appearing on the horizon. Kevin and Zephyr caught site of the massive cannons that had been attached to the shoulders.  
"What kind of guns are those?"  
"Those are the republic mega-cannons. They have as much power in one shot as the Ultrasaurus has in it's four cannons."  
"No way."  
"Way." The ground started rumbling even more.  
"The Death Stinger I presume?" Kevin said, raising an eyebrow.  
"Bingo."  
"Then the fight of the century is about to begin."  
"For once Kevin, I must agree with you." 


	17. KG vs the Death Stinger

Disclaimer:same as usual  
  
  
The King Gojulas and Death Stinger moved towards one another. The Death Stinger's tail snapped into firing position and fired at the KG. The red horn on the KG's head popped up and started to glow. When the particle beam hit, it fizzled out.  
"What's this?" Prozen asked in frustration.  
"It's an ion shield. Got the idea from the Dark Spiner." General Drack said confidently.  
"I can still use my other weapons on you."  
"True, but you have to get by my weaponry first." The mega-cannons on the KG's shoulders fired a warning shot near the Death Stinger.  
"Yes, I know, but my armor is as good as yours, if not better."  
"We will see."   
  
The two Zoids fought each other, the Death Stinger showing an early advantage. Being that it was so much smaller than the KG, it could run circles around it without getting hurt. Not that it could completely escape getting damaged. The mega-cannons created a huge shockwave, throwing the Death Stinger around whenever the blast was anywhere near it. The Death Stinger fired on the KG creating a line of holes going up the left leg. The KG brought it's tail around and smashed the Death Stinger. The Death Stinger climbed up a building and fired off two small particle beams. The KG dodged the first one and used it's ion shield to deal with the second beam. Prozen jumped at Drack and latched on to the right arm. Drack grabbed the Death Stinger and threw it. The Death Stinger landed on it's feet a little distance away and braced itself.  
  
Kevin and Zephyr watched in amazement. The two Zoids battled furiously. Kevin got an idea during the fight.  
"Hey Zephyr, you want to skip fighting me and help me deal with the Death Stinger?"  
"Why the sudden 180?"  
"I've gotten tired of our little conflict with each other. I mean haven't you?"  
"Yeah, I'll admit I have. And to set the records straight, I didn't kill your family. My teammates did."  
"Huh?" Kevin said in disbelief.  
"I stood by and served as lookout. I couldn't bring myself to kill my best friends family." Kevin's jaw hit the floor. "Well that was unexpected." Kevin said.  
"Who cares. Lets go get Isaac and Bit. Then we get the rest of your team."  
"Right. And then the we give the Death Stinger hell!" Kevin said in agreement.  
  
After the group was assembled, Naomi couldn't help but to say something about the condition of the four Zoids leading the group.  
"You guys sure you'll be alright in your Zoids? They don't look like they'll last long."  
"Don't worry Naomi, they've still got plenty of fight left in them." said Bit.  
  
The Death Stinger and KG had inflicted major amounts of damage on each other, but each was still up and fighting. Just before the two titans renewed their efforts to destroy each other, the Marauders, Zephyr, and Isaac, charged onto the battle field.  
"Need some help General?" Kevin asked Drack.  
"You couldn't have picked a better time."  
"What about those two?" Drack said, the KG motioning to the Geno Breaker and Liger Zero X.  
"On our side."  
"WHAT?!?!?!" Prozen's voice boomed over the comm.  
"That's right Prozen." Isaac said mockingly, "We've defected."  
"Traitors. I'll kill you all!" Prozen shouted, bringing the tail into firing position.  
"I don't think so." Leon charged the Death Stinger, closing half the distance from a near stop. He opened his Blade Ligers blades and barely missed taking the Death Stinger's tail off. The armor on one segment of the tail fell off however. Kevin hovered in front of the Death Stinger and engaged his ion shield as soon as the Death Stinger fired. The beam fizzled out and Prozen growled in anger.  
"This battle shall end hear and now."   
"I agree whole heartedly Prozen." Kevin replied. Prozen smiled and burrowed under ground.  
"Where'd he go?" Brad said, looking around.  
  
Prozen resurfaced where his enemies couldn't see him. He brought the Death Stinger's tail into firing position and got a charge ready.  
  
Jamie flew around the city and found Prozen.  
"He's five blocks to you left Kevin!"  
"Everyone get out of here! He's going to fire a blast at full power!"  
"But what about you?" Leena asked worriedly. The Geno Breaker walked up to the Gun Sniper Nightmare.  
"Don't worry Leena. I don't like it either, but something tells me that Kevin has to do this alone."  
"Alright."  
  
"You ready Siege?"  
"Ready as I'll ever be." he growled.  
"Then lets get ready for it." The Spiner leaned forward and raised it's sail. 


	18. Dark Spiner vs Death Stinger

Disclaimer:still the same  
  
  
Everyone except Kevin made their way out of the immediate area. Leena looked back at the shrinking Spiner.  
"Good luck." she whispered.  
  
"Alright Siege, you ready?"  
"As ready as I'll ever be."  
"Then lets do it."  
  
Kevin leaned the Spiner forward and prepared to use his charged particle gun. Except there was going to be one difference.  
  
"Switch the shoulder cannons over Siege."  
"Done."  
"Bring power from everything except life support and send it to the guns."  
"Done."  
"Link the shoulder cannons to the guns on the sail."  
"Done."  
"Prepare charge."  
"Preparing charge."  
  
Prozen looked at his view screen in amusement.  
"Does he really think he can compete with the Death Stinger. He must have gone mad. Even though this isn't the original, it has more power than the Death Saurer. He has no chance."  
He glanced at his radar and saw a mass of republican Zoids.  
"Before I deal with him, I'm going to have some fun."  
  
The Death Stinger fired it's charged particle gun at the large group of republican Zoids that had amassed at the entrance to the city. The Zoids disappeared in a raging inferno. The KG took up position and open fire on the Death Stinger. Prozen shook his head. At that range, the KG could do little. He fired again and destroyed a group of Gojulas.  
  
"Siege, how much longer until the charge is complete?"  
"One minute, 30 seconds."  
"Be ready."  
  
Prozen looked back at the shot of the Dark Spiner and his eyes widened. He saw three points of energy on the Spiner, instead of one.  
"What the hell did he do?"  
He turned his attention fully to the Dark Spiner. He aimed and got ready to fire.  
  
"Siege, Prozen's getting ready to fire."  
"Charge complete."  
"Don't fire until he does."  
  
Prozen opened a comm channel to Kevin.  
"Ready to die?"  
"I should ask you the same question."  
"Cocky punk. Your puny Zoid stands no chance against the power of the Death Stinger."  
"Oh really?"  
  
Prozen frowned, and closed the comm channel. He fired his particle beam. Kevin fired his three particle beams at the Death Stinger's one. The two beams collided and the Death Stinger's was immediately pushed back.  
"How can you have this kind of power?"  
"It's simple," Kevin said, his voice shaking form the vibration of the Spiner. "My organoid is merged with the Zoid, and I've got three beams instead of one."  
"That may be, but you won't win."  
"We'll see." Kevin closed the comm channel and turned his attention back to his Zoid.  
  
"How much longer can we keep this up Siege?"  
"Five minutes at least, eight at most."  
"Longer than I expected. Well, lets not wait and find out. Increase power." Kevin held on to the controls as tightly as he could. If he didn't, he would've been thrown around the cockpit.  
  
Prozen was having major problems. The Death Stinger was falling apart from the inside out. Circuitry, servos, and other essential components had began melting. The Death Stinger wasn't going to last much longer.  
"How can he have that much power?" he murmured, looking at the Spiner's particle beam, which had grown closer to the Death Stinger. He was about to increase his beams power when an alarm went off. The main servo in the tail was failing. He looked at the screen and cringed. The tail was bending more each second.   
  
"Siege, the main servo in the Death Stinger's tail is failing, increase power."  
"Time to finish this." The Dark Spiner increased power. The Death Stinger was blown away instantly. 


	19. It's not Over Yet

Disclaimer:still the same  
  
  
The Dark Spiner increased the power of it's particle beams yet again, vaporizing the Death Stinger. Prozen had opened a comm channel to Kevin just before he died, and Kevin ended up watching him die. Kevin turned away from the vid link, almost throwing up.  
  
The Dark Spiner's particle beams had destroyed everything in their path. A huge trench was carved into the planet itself. The side building behind the Spiner had been pushed in from the particle gun's backwash. Kevin did a systems check and found that almost everything had failed. About the only thing the Spiner could do was open it's cockpit and walk. Kevin fell back in his chair and sighed.  
  
"Well, it's finally over."  
"Nice work Kevin!" came Leena's voice over the comm. Kevin looked at the vid link. The picture was broken and was filled with static. 'Just another thing to repair.' Kevin mussed.   
"Thanks Leena." Kevin said, seeing his comrades walk over to him. Everyone's Zoid had sustained heavy damage. Kevin smiled at the thought of finally getting some peace and quiet, when the Spiner was rocked by a blast that hit the building next to him. Kevin looked around and saw a Zaber Fang standing in the street. 11 more walked out from behind the buildings.  
  
"You are going no where." said the lead Zaber pilot.  
"We'll see about that." said Jamie. He and Pierce flew over head, destroying one of the Zaber Fangs.  
"What took you guys so long?" Bit asked.  
"We got tied up with some Black Redlers."  
"We don't plan on staying." Leena said to the lead Zaber pilot. Nightmare ran towards the Zaber Fang, multiple images of the Nightmare appearing suddenly. Kevin's jaw dropped.  
"How are you doing that?"  
"One of Nightmare's abilities."  
"Oh. Anyways, we've got some Zaber Fangs to deal with people."  
"Right." everyone said in unison.   
  
Everyone started weaving in and out of the buildings, engaging the Zaber Fangs. After a few minutes, it was apparent that they were outnumbered.  
"What do we do now?" Brad asked no one in particular.  
"I don't know." Isaac said.  
"We fight, and try and take some of them with us."  
"You think that's what it's come to Kevin?" Zephyr asked.  
"I don't see any other way."  
"I still have my charged particle gun."  
"Use it!"  
"Right."  
  
Zephyr got the Geno Breaker in the air and started to charge his particle gun.  
"FIRE IN THE HOLE!!!" shouted Zephyr just before he fired. All the Zaber Fangs on he had aimed at were destroyed. The problem was, almost twice as many appeared to replace those destroyed.  
"This is not good." Zephyr said as he landed.  
"Well, that won't work. Looks like we fight them."  
"I hate to say it, but I agree with Kevin." said Leena.  
"Then lets do it!" Bit said, tackling the nearest Zaber Fang.  
  
The Marauders were fighting increasingly overwhelming numbers, and they were gradually losing. Naomi had been knocked out while trying to get on top of a building and Jamie had been shot down by a stray blast. Kevin was having a hard time doing anything because of the amount of damage done to the Spiner. Kevin was tackled by a Zaber and thought it was over when he saw the Zaber standing over him. Just as the Zaber Fang was about to destroy the Spiner, it was blown apart. Kevin looked up and saw a large group of Command Wolves approaching. There were a good amount of Shield Liger's among them too. The Zoids started tearing apart the Zaber Fangs. Kevin felt the ground shake and looked at his radar. Three Gojulas were inbound.  
  
"Looks like we can take it easy now." Kevin said, addressing his team.  
"Finally." Leena said. "I'm exhausted."   
  
Kevin and co. were standing outside the Hover Cargo. They were watching their Zoids being loaded on to the Hover Cargo.  
"How long do you think it'll take to repair the Zoids?"  
"Don't know. Hey Isaac, where's your Liger's other armor unit?"  
"It's in the Whale King Zephyr and I use to get around. We'll show you where it is later."  
"Fine."  
Kevin was about to put his arm around Leena when Harry ran over and shoved him out of the way. Harry started his pointless rambling, trying to get Leena to dump Kevin and go out on a date with him. Siege walked over and smacked Harry away with his tail. Harry got up and started cursing at the organoid. Siege merely snorted in Harry's face. Harry shoved Siege out of the way and tried again to woo Leena. Kevin had had just about enough of this. He got up and walked up behind Harry.  
"Harry, there's something I've been meaning to tell you." he said nonchalantly. Harry turned around expecting Kevin to say he'd give Leena up. Instead, Kevin punched him square in the face. He fell to the ground, unconscious.  
"Feel better now?" Pierce asked. Kevin nodded.  
"You guys have no idea how long I've wanted to do that."  
"How long?" Bit asked.  
"Since the first day I met him." Doc whistled.  
"That was about three and a half years ago."  
"Now that's self control." Leon said mockingly. They all shared a much needed laugh. 


	20. Finally a Happy Ending

Disclaimer:the usual  
  
  
The war had finally ended. After three long years, things were back to normal. The Marauders were attending the celebration that was being held in honor of the republic's victory and the return of the former imperial emperor. Kevin, Leena and Zephyr were standing off to one side.  
"You two really think I should be here?" Zephyr asked, looking around. Kevin took a sip of his drink and threw his tux coat onto the nearest chair.   
"I don't see why not, you did help win the war."  
"How's that?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.  
"You turned on your own men and defied your leader." said Leena, adjusting her slightly tight fitting dress. Zephyr thought about Leena's statement for a moment.  
"Guess you're right." He said finally, taking a sip of his drink.  
  
As the night progressed, Kevin tried very hard to keep from getting drunk. Zephyr, Bit, Brad, and Isaac had all challenged Kevin to drinking contests. Consecutively. Leon had come over and was about to challenge him and Kevin had to decline. His answer was slightly slurred, and it caused everyone to laugh. Leena helped him up and Kevin managed to stand by himself, after a minute. Leena giggled at Siege's attempts to stand. Because of his link to Kevin, he was going through the same thing Kevin was. Except he was having much more trouble standing.  
"I think it's time I take the two of you home." she said, smiling.   
"I agree." Kevin said. He turned to Siege to tell him it was time to leave and fell on the floor laughing at his attempts to get up.  
"Shut up, it's your fault I'm like this." he grumbled. Kevin got back up and wobbled a little.  
"Leena, I think I'll be able to walk out of here, but I think you should help Siege." She laughed.  
"I think I need to help both of you out of here." Bit walked over to Kevin and slapped him on the shoulder.  
"See you tomorrow pal." he said, his speech incredibly slurred. Kevin saw he was holding a shot glass in his hand. He snatched it.  
"I'm cutting you off Bit."  
"But..." Kevin emptied the shot glass in one gulp and then handed it back to Bit.  
"See you tomorrow guys." He said, slapping Bit on the shoulder. Leena helped Kevin and Siege walk out of the party hall, leaving their friends behind them, laughing.  
  
"Well, that was fun." Kevin said, sitting in the passenger side of the Convertible he had bought Leena.   
"Yes it was, especially watching you and Siege try and get up."  
"Oh, come on Leena." Kevin said, giving her a playful shove. Leena returned the shove and drove the three of them home.  
  
The next day, everyone had gathered at the Toros base to discuss what they would do next. Jamie, Pierce, and Doc decided they would reopen the training center the had run before the war. That gave Kevin an idea.  
"Doc, why don't we all work at the training center."  
"Go on." Doc replied.  
"What about my business?" Leon asked.  
"Just moved it to the training center. We'll rebuild it. You can have your business's headquarters there. That way you could still run your business and train rookies at the same time."  
"I like the idea. Bit?"  
"Definitely. This way we'll get to run the business and not totally give up battling."  
"Count Naomi and I in." said Brad.  
"Done. What about you two?" Kevin said, looking at Zephyr and Isaac. The two of them looked at each other.  
"I guess I'm in." said Zephyr.  
"And what about you bro?" Bit asked Isaac.  
"Why not. I'm tired of fighting like I did, but I don't want to really stop fighting."  
"Then it's settled." Doc said. "The training center shall be rebuilt and we'll all work there."  
  
Kevin smiled inwardly. He was glad everyone accepted his idea. There was one thing he didn't tell everyone. There was one more person he'd like to ask to join them. But that can wait. He turned to Leena and whispered a question. She agreed with Kevin. Kevin took a deep breath and said it.  
"Everyone, Leena and I have set a date for our wedding."  
  
Two days before the wedding, Harry found out. The result was all hell broke loose. He wouldn't leave Kevin and Leena alone. He kept threatening Kevin and trying to win Leena over. Leena just ignored him, but Kevin wasn't fairing as well. Harry was starting to wear on Kevin's temper. The day before the wedding, Kevin lost it. Kevin and Leena had been out making the final arrangements, and Harry had found the two of them. He knocked Kevin out of the way and tried winning Leena over again. Leena slapped him in the face. Harry looked like he had been shot. When he turned to leave, he came face to face with Kevin. His Pupils where almost invisible. Harry took two steps back and Kevin let loose his rage. The result was that Harry would be in the hospital for three weeks.  
  
Two hours later...  
"Feel better now Kev?" Leena asked him playfully.  
"Yes, I feel much better. But you'd think he'd have a glass jaw with the amount of talking he does." He said rubbing his knuckles. Leena laughed.  
"Well, after today, I don't think he'll be bothering us like that anymore."  
"For his sake, I hope so." Kevin said, giving her a kiss.  
  
The next day...  
  
Kevin was standing at the altar, sweating bullets. Brad leaned over.  
"Don't worry, you'll be fine." he whispered.  
"You say that now. Just wait until your wedding." This caused Brad to stop and think for a moment.  
"Guess you're right." Kevin looked over at Naomi, who was serving as Leena's brides maid. She winked at him and Brad. Kevin felt a little relieved and Brad blushed. Kevin turned and looked at the entrance.  
  
The doors opened and everyone watched as Doc brought Leena in. Kevin was surprised at how beautiful Leena looked in the dress. Naomi had told him about it, but he still wasn't ready for it. It wasn't a flowing dress, and it showed an acceptable amount of Leena's cleavage. Kevin glanced around quickly. Almost every man in the audience was gawking. He smiled inwardly. 'Won't Leena be surprised when she sees the video.' The dress was white, with blue accents. Kevin considered her to be the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen.  
  
Leena looked up the isle at her husband to be. His tuxedo was navy blue, though it looked black. Kevin always liked to trick people. His gun was hanging in it's normal spot, and it only gave him an even more dashing look. He was holding his hands behind his back, trying his best to look calm, but he wasn't fooling Leena. But she had to admit to herself, she was nervous to. But he was definitely worth it.  
  
The two exchanged there vows and kissed one another. Everyone in the crowd clapped. Kevin scooped Leena up and looked at her.  
"You know how upset Harry's going to be now?" he asked mockingly.  
"Oh who cares. I know I don't." she said.  
"Glad to hear it."  
  
Kevin carried her out of the church and set her down in the passenger side of her convertible.  
"Hey, it's my car. I should drive."  
"Not this time dear. Let me drive." Kevin said revving the engine.  
"You just want to see how fast this thing goes." Leena said, smiling  
"So?" Kevin asked innocently. Leena laughed.  
"Just drive." Kevin hit the gas and they were off.  
"And so our life together begins." Kevin said.  
"So it does." Leena said, kissing Kevin. 


End file.
